Fans of the Olympic and Patalympic Games may help protect children

Today, UNICEF started a worldwide sports initiative to incorporate the public in general to its work in favor of children. Sports lovers around the world may participate freely in the actions of the Olympic and Paralympic Games by being a part of the UNICEF Team, Move for the Children, a mechanism that generates an entrepreneurial donation of R$5 each time participants walk 5 Km. on foot or wheelchair. 

Users can also accumulate points by doing exercise and other activities such as filling out a questionnaire at the platform of the UNICEF Team. The participant with the most points will win a trip to be a first hand witness of UNICEF's work in Brazil (international trips are not included). 

Gary Stahl, UNICEF's Representative in Brazil, stated, "We want everybody in the world to develop a sports spirit and remain active in favor of children, to help raise vital funds that will contribute to UNICEF's work in favor of the most vulnerable children in the world".  

Estimates suggest that 30 children and adolescents are killed every day in Brazil. More than one out of three adolescents that die in the country are a result of a murder case compared with one out of 20 deaths caused by homicide among the general population. For the most vulnerable children in Brazil, exposure to violence and exploitation is common.  Large sports events may increase the risk of atrocities including sexual abuse and child labor for these children. 

To help prevent and respond to violence against children during the Olympic and Paralympic Games, UNICEF has launched a new version of Proteja Brasil (Protect Brazil), an application that allows witnesses and victims to reports acts of violence, abuse, or exploitation to the authorities. Anonymous reports may be presented regarding the time, place, and circumstances of the crime. 

Stahl said, "Violence, abuse, discrimination, and exploitation are the tough reality for many children. Protect Brazil offers common people the opportunity to assume the problem and take measures to address the violations against the rights of children, and offer them the  help they so desperately need".   

The UNICEF Team - Muévete por los Niños (Move for Children) was created by UNICEF and Ogilvy, and is supported by CAF, Development Bank of Latin America, and Save the Dream.