Luta pela Paz, also known as Fight for Peace, was established in the Complexo de Maré favela in Rio de Janeiro in 2000. One of the city’s most violent favelas, many teenagers with few job or educational opportunities join drug trafficking gangs and work as soldiers for traffickers.

To combat this, the non-profit Luta pela Paz provides an alternative for at-risk teens by offering education, job training and access to the job market, leadership training, and above all, sports, including boxing, capoeira and martial arts.

Program participants have the opportunity to train as athletes and to be students in order to prevent them from becoming involved in drugs and violence. Some have been so successful that they have gone on to become professional boxers, with some poised to compete in the next Olympics.

In Rio, there are currently over five hundred students in the program, aided by the opening of a new sports and education center in 2005. The program has been so successful that it recently expanded to London, where it serves poor youth.

For more information, see the official website.