As the result of a project begun in Landmark Education’s Self-Expression and Leadership Program, the Centre for Capoeira India has partnered with the Vatsalya Children’s Shelter to offer Capoeira training to the young people living there. The project, titled Leetal Besouros and created by a Landmark graduate named Parikshit, has enabled 35 of the young people to be trained in the fast-moving, dance-based Brazilian martial art.

Parikshit enrolled 18 volunteers from Capoeira India where he trained to start the project, and the students now train in 90 minute classes. The children, all of whose parents are too poor to care for them, and who get basic education from Vatsalya, love the training – the acrobatics, the movement, and the singing. It has positively impacted their lives in a variety of ways, from fighting less, to becoming more open and less shy, and even opening up other opportunities – one student recently appeared in a movie.

The kids still need more gear, such as pants and instruments – email Vatsalya at [email protected] to get involved, and go to Capoeira Connection to read the whole story.