In Brazil, there are a lot of problems with the public schools. Parents with a lot of money usually send their kids to fancy private schools. These schools give the kids the best chance of getting into the free federal colleges in the country. In Brazil, going to college is free, which might make it seem like everyone can move up in society. However, wealthy parents can cheat the system by paying for their kids to go to special schools that are only for their class.

Vinicius knows how hard things can be for kids from poor families, so he’s trying to help kids who can’t pay for a private school. Base is an educational app that was made by his organization. It uses football to keep kids interested. The app was first shown at his old school in Rio, and more places will get it next year.

“The work of LeBron James, Lewis Hamilton, and Marcus Rashford has inspired me.” Vinicius the Junior

Vinícius says, “My first goal was to help these young kids do better in school.” “Playing football is a dream, but wouldn’t it be great if we could help poor kids get out of poverty by teaching them to read and write?” In the middle and long term, that’s what I want to happen. More doctors, lawyers, and engineers need to leave the favelas and work for us. We are going to give them chances.

“Both boys and girls still can’t read or write in Brazil.” I was able to help with the launch of the app at the school where I went to school. Those were great times for me, and I remember them mostly because I played football! It’s just that I believe I can do more, and I am. Athletes have done that many times before. What LeBron James, Lewis Hamilton, and Marcus Rashford are doing makes me want to do better. To start, I did something for my neighborhood. Who knows if it will spread across Brazil?

Vini and his family have always helped São Goncalo, which is where he lives in Rio. His family gave him small gifts and helped him in any way they could when he was younger and wasn’t making a lot of money as a football player. He is able to do more now that he plays for Real Madrid and for Brazil. The school is owned by him alone, and he spent almost R$2 million of his own money to start it up.

“Adding football to school was a good idea.” This app makes it more fun to study. We worked on it for a year and a half, and the pandemic showed us how important it is to make things better for people in the neighborhoods. The classes are very different in terms of schooling, and we are working to close that gap. “A few months ago, I went to see the kids and saw how important this is and how the activities make them feel better,” he says.

“They use the app at school.” There are a lot of tasks and levels that they need to get right in order to pass. We also do things with the kids in person. For example, when we teach math and Portuguese, we always use sports as a background. But they learn more about the world’s social problems, like how we need to take better care of the earth and treat everyone the same.

An eight-year-old student at the school named Bruna Ferreira Matos is one of the kids who uses the app. She’s thrilled to be a part of it. “There are many puzzles in it.” The game was great, and I think it helped me learn more than my books. Because it’s so good, I’d like to use it more often, like every day.

The project will start at the school named after the philosopher and teacher Paulo Freire in Brazil. Vini Jr. and his team want to make it bigger next year, though. This is just the beginning.