Ribeirão Preto Youth Dedicate Free Time to Social Action

At the end of 2025, two teenagers in Ribeirão Preto, São Paulo, reflect on their dedication to social action. Lia Bardella Monteiro, 15, and Luis Henrique Vitor Martins Júnior, 16, spend their free time helping the community through different groups. Lia is a member of Interact, a Rotary Club program for youth aged 12 to 18. She participates in the Recicla Bike project, which collects bicycles to donate to local children.

Luis joined the Ordem DeMolay in April to support his civic development. He highlights a memorable action at a public school where the group provided vision exams for over 130 students. Both teens state that looking at realities different from their own has changed their worldview. The local Secretariat of Education also encourages student involvement in community programs, with six schools participating in 2025.

Lia Bardella Monteiro, 15, has been a member of Interact for one year and four months. Interact is a program run by the Rotary Club designed for young people aged 12 to 18. The program focuses on developing leadership skills and community service. Lia joined the group after her father, who was a member in his youth, suggested she find an activity involving social action.

She describes the experience as a learning opportunity for dealing with diverse people. Lia notes that the group encourages members to be welcoming. "It is a learning experience for dealing with people, because we deal with very diverse people, both in the projects we do and being there inside [the group]. We are very encouraged to be welcoming," she said.

One specific project Lia participates in is Recicla Bike. Through this initiative, young people collect bicycles throughout the year to donate to children in a local community. Since they cannot donate to every child, the group raffles the bicycles. In recent events, they also provided barbers and locksmiths, and distributed toys during events for the children.

Lia believes that being present in these situations helps her understand the world better and what she can do for others. She emphasizes that the group motivates members from the very first moment and focuses on inclusion. "Since the first moment, we are motivated in the group. Someone new, we go talk, we include the person," she explained.

In April of this year, Luis Henrique Vitor Martins Júnior, 16, joined the Ordem DeMolay. This is a social institution for young men between 12 and 21 years old that aids in civic and social formation. Luis stated that joining the group opened doors for him to do more of what he already enjoyed: being a helper.

Luis believes in thinking about the future. He views the group as an opportunity to develop himself while helping his neighbors. "I think since very early on I have always been a boy who thinks a lot about the future. I saw not only the opportunity to develop myself, but to help the next person. I am adding to my future and to the future of the next person also," he said.

He described one of the most significant actions he participated in, which took place at a public school. The group offered various services to the community. Because Luis also attends a public school, EMEF Professor Eduardo Romualdo de Souza, the experience was emotional for him. The group provided vision exams, an area where many children in public schools face difficulties. Luis mentioned that they provided over 130 vision exams during that event.

For 2026, Luis plans to expand these actions and hopes to recruit more young people to the Ordem DeMolay. "It is very cool that we can help the next person, right? Social action is a way for us to bring love to those who need it. I finish 2025 with a feeling of gratitude. Next year we intend to seek more young people who want to be part of this order, be part of this union and our family," he projected.

The push for young people to engage in social action often starts in schools. In Ribeirão Preto, a project developed by the Secretaria de Educação (Secretariat of Education) encourages adolescents to get involved in programs that help their communities. Roberta Poltronieri, the manager of democratic management, oversees participatory processes in municipal schools.

Poltronieri views schools as guardians of young people's dreams. "I see that education is the principle of everything and the school is the guardian of the dreams of young people. Many ideas pass through there, people who dream, who need opportunities, who want to make a difference, who sometimes need a word, an incentive, help, information that changes their lives," she said.

The democratic management coordinates councils, student unions, and forums within the schools. These opportunities allow students to learn beyond reading and writing. "These opportunities show that when you offer a space of learning for the students, that is not only learning of reading and writing in the school, but learning in the city, they engage, they learn and demonstrate interest," Poltronieri noted.

In 2025, six schools participated in projects developed by the democratic management. For the upcoming year, Roberta hopes to see more schools join. The intention is for teachers to engage students with content and projects, adopting topics that are transversal to education so students have more opportunities to learn about relevant themes in life and society.