São Paulo – Established four years ago by Brazil’s Helder Roger, the nonprofit Winners Play for Life helps 1,500 Syrian refugees living in Majdal Anjar in the region of the Beqaa Valley, Lebanon. Of the assisted people, 300 are children who are given access to educational activities like English classes and sports, particularly football. They also receive psychological help and social assistance.
According to Winners board member Helder Cavalcanti, who is son of minister Helder Roger, the nonprofit came from his father’s desire to establish a “meaningful” organization. “He wanted to fill his work with meaning. He retired, then he moved to Lebanon and started working with refugees. He moved to the country that welcomes the highest number of refugees compared to its population. And when they showcase Brazil, when they put up our flag there in the nonprofit, things just flow,” says Cavalcanti.
According to figures given by Cavalcanti, who visited the Arab Brazilian Chamber of Commerce last Friday (4), 70% of the 2.5 million Syrian refugees living in Lebanon are children under 13. “We aid adults, too, but children are the focus of our project,” he says. The nonprofit has 15 volunteers and is supported by donations of food, gear for the classes like football jerseys, and sponsorship.
ABCC Communication & Marketing vice president Silvia Antibas welcomed Cavalcanti, Winners board member Celia Grace and founder & CEO Roger Helder alongside ABCC president Osmar Chohfi in the headquarters of the Chamber in São Paulo. She pointed out how much refuge “impacts people,” as Helder isn’t Arab and got involved in a cause in the region.
“It’s very interesting to see an initiative by someone who isn’t Arab. He went to Lebanon to live there, liked and decided to establish the nonprofit. It’s massively impactful that someone that has no ties to Lebanon gets involved and see that this expat problem affects everyone. One way for us to help is to spread information about their work,” says Antibas.
Quick facts:
Winnners Play for Life
Instagram here
Email: contato@winnerplayforlife.org
Website here
Translation by Guilherme Miranda
