Traveling With Purpose in Rio de Janeiro: A Journey That Changes Lives
During my month’s travel to Brazil, I came across a volunteer-driven education program in Rio de Janeiro that invites travelers, retirees, and young professionals to share their skills in discovering a deeper way to see the world. For fifty years, a family-run program originally from Italy has supported children living beside a favela (slum) providing a holistic educational program that offers tutoring, arts, meditation, and language education, transforming the lives of children. During my travels over the past several years, I have increasingly come to see travel as more than movement between places. In Kenya, I volunteered at a small rural school and continue to support their efforts today. Experiences like this remind me that travel can be an exchange—not just of culture and stories, but of care and commitment that allows travelers to become part of a community while helping a child build a brighter future. Can you spare a bit more time to read about this unique program in hopes that you or folks you know may want to consider visiting….
Para Ti — One Family, One Favela, Fifty Years of Commitment
What began as a small act of compassion by an Italian family has grown into a volunteer-driven program connecting people from around the world with a young community of learners who are eager to learn and thrive. The program was created by the Urani family from Italy, who moved to Rio to work for a major automobile company and settled near a growing favela. Over time, they noticed that neighborhood children were missing opportunities to learn. To address this, they launched a holistic after-school educational program that includes tutoring, English language instruction, and a variety of creative and artistic activities. To sustain the program, they established a partnership with another nonprofit that helped recruit Italians from Italy to volunteer. Since then, they’ve expanded the program to recruit volunteers from other countries. A 12-bedroom guest house was built to generate income for the program while also enabling special arrangements for volunteers who wish to travel to Rio in exchange for their service. Currently entering its fiftieth year, the program is overseen by the surviving daughter as well as dedicated volunteers—many of whom return annually alongside new volunteers.
The Center, along with the Urani villa home, is situated next to the Favela Vila Canoas on hillside slopes surrounded by mountains and the Tijuca National Rainforest Park, a 10-minute walk to the beach near Copacabana. The Favela is home to 3000 people and is considered one of the safest, supporting both commercial and artisanal businesses.
Why Volunteer?
Many people travel to Rio de Janeiro to see its beaches, music, and famous landscapes. But a small program tucked next to a favela offers visitors a different kind of experience—one that allows travelers to become part of a community while helping children build brighter futures.
Around the world, a growing number of travelers are choosing experiences that go beyond sightseeing. Often called “volunteer sustainable tourism,” this movement brings people who want to explore new cultures while contributing their time and skills to local communities. Retirees looking for meaningful ways to use their experience, young professionals seeking purpose, and students eager to see the world are increasingly combining travel with service. In the process, they often discover that the exchange goes both ways—communities benefit from new energy and ideas, while volunteers return home with a deeper understanding of the world and their place in it. It is what many times I believe is part of becoming a global citizen.
Programs like Para Ti are sustained not only by dedication but by the willingness of people from around the world to step forward and participate. Volunteers have come from Italy, Europe, and beyond—students, retirees, teachers, artists, and travelers simply looking to contribute something meaningful. Some stay a week or more, while others return year after year. What they discover is that the experience changes them as much as it helps the children they come to support. I know it did for me in Kenya. In a world that is so divided, places like this remind us that connection is still one of the most powerful forces we have. Sometimes all it takes is time, curiosity, and the willingness to show up.
Are you Curious? —- Would You Like to Know More?
If so, I encourage you to check out Para Ti’s website to learn more about how the program operates. I also suggest you look at their Instagram account, where there are ongoing recent photos along with videos of many of their educational and cultural activities, including interviews with volunteers.
Next Step, I would contact Lidia Urani, the Director. First by email and then through a video call on Google or WhatsApp’s to discuss volunteer possibilities and what those arrangements can look like so that it is tailored as much as possible to the needs of the center and one’s skills and interests. Volunteers are welcome to support activities such as, but not limited to:
tutoring and homework assistance
Conversational English
Arts, music, and creative programs
Sports or wellness activities
Mentorship and life skills
The after-school program is closed during most of Rio’s holidays; therefore any arrangements would have to take that into consideration. Besides Portuguese, Lidia speaks both English and Spanish. Here is how you can reach her…
Contact Information:
Lidia Urani, Program Director
Email address: Lidiaurani@hotmail.com
WhatsApp’s phone # 55 21 99260-6670
Website Link: Para Ti Org.
Instagram Link: @ParaTiGuestHouseRio
Final Note and My Photos
I enjoyed learning about this unique volunteer program from Lidia and touring the villa where her family has devoted so much of their lives to making a difference. I included a number of photos as part of the story, some are mine, but most were sent to me by Lidia and Claudia. The photos are of the program and the guesthouse. The center was closed and was being painted when I visited during the Carnival season, which is a holiday. I encourage you to review the photos and videos available on their Instagram account and visit their website should you wish to consider this project, either independently or as part of a group. Also, if you are interested in reading about my month-long stay in Rio, click “Rio de Janeiro: Between Splendor, Struggle, Carnival, Beauty, and Shadows of Decline.”
I leave you with one of my favorite quotes on purposeful living….
“The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others.”
— Mahatma Gandhi
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