Summer 2026 AFE: Kristelle Pascual MIDP'27

Finding My Place in the Roda: Reflections from My Internship at Gingando pela Paz

By Kristelle Pascual MIDP’27

This article was originally published on the Duke-UNC Rotary Peace Center site as part of the Summer 2026 AFE Blog.

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Everything Begins with a Circle

At the heart of every capoeira session is the roda—the circle. Participants gather around as two players engage through movement, while others sing, clap, and play instruments, bringing the space to life. Recognized by UNESCO as an Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2014, the roda represents much more than a physical circle. It is a space of connection, trust, and collective responsibility.

For Gingando pela Paz, the roda becomes a powerful metaphor for Social Capoeira—a safe and creative space where children can be children. Through play, movement, and community, children who have experienced adversity, violence, or displacement have opportunities to rebuild their identities, discover their strengths, and imagine a future filled with possibilities.

But the roda does not end when the session ends. It expands into families, organizations, and communities, where everyone plays a role in protecting, developing, and supporting children’s growth. As a social worker, this idea deeply resonated with me because I believe every child deserves their own circle of protection.

So, when I first heard about Gingando pela Paz and its expansion into the United States, I immediately knew I wanted to be part of the journey. I thought I was joining an organization to contribute my skills and support its growth.

But guess what? I did not just learn about the roda; rather, I entered it.

Entering the Circle

Before this internship, I imagined myself working in a large international organization. Like many young professionals, I saw it as the next logical step, a chance to strengthen my resume and open future opportunities.

But deep down, I knew I was looking for something different. I wanted to work close to communities. I wanted to understand people’s realities beyond reports and theories. I wanted to be part of something still growing and witness its impacts firsthand. To me, Gingando felt like that opportunity. It felt like a space where I could deepen my social work practice while applying what I had been learning through my master’s program.

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Learning the Roda Through Experience

One of my first assignments was to attend a beginner’s capoeira session. Although we had discussed Social Capoeira extensively, I still struggled to understand how movement and play could become tools for transformation.

That changed when I stepped into the roda.

Despite struggling with unfamiliar movements, I found myself smiling and laughing throughout the session. Surrounded by children and adults of different ages, genders, and experiences, I saw what Gingando meant by ‘creating a space of safety and creativity’.

Nobody expected perfection or was left behind. The game was not about defeating another person; it was about communicating, connecting, and moving together. Even without understanding every song, I sang. Even without knowing the instruments, I participated. And somehow, I felt that I belonged.

It was then that I truly understood the purpose of the capoeira roda.

Community Beyond the Roda

Another experience that stayed with me was attending a Brazilian samba gathering in Hunter’s Point. Watching people dance, celebrate, and connect reminded me of the power of identity and community.

I was not Brazilian, yet I felt welcomed. I even found myself tearing up, not because of the music alone, but because I witnessed something deeply human: belonging.

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In that moment, I was reminded why community matters so much. No matter where we find ourselves – whether we are the one extending a helping hand or the one receiving it, we all need a community to lean on. As I watched families and friends come together, I couldn’t help but realize that we, as human beings, have far more in common than we often think. Brazil and the Philippines may be separated by oceans, shaped by different histories, and rooted in different cultures, yet I saw the same spirit of community that I grew up with back home. It reminded me of the Filipino value of kapwa– the idea that our shared humanity (or inner self) connects us. Despite our differences, it is the sense of belonging, care, and interconnectedness that brings us closer.

I also couldn’t stop thinking about the children Gingando hopes to serve. If they could grow up surrounded by this same sense of belonging, identity, and collective care, perhaps many of the problems we try to solve later in life would never take root in the first place.

I’m grateful that this is one of Gingando’s core principles. Witnessing it firsthand didn’t just help me understand Brazilian culture and the organization’s work, it allowed me to experience why community lies at the heart of its mission

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From Playing to Purpose

As my internship progressed, I began understanding the intentionality behind Gingando’s methodology.

Social Capoeira begins with protection: creating safe environments where children rebuild their confidence, identity, and sense of worth. It moves toward development, where children discover their strengths, build leadership, and recognize their ability to contribute. Finally, it leads to consolidation, wherechildren reconnect with their families and communities as agents of peace and positive change.

My role during the internship was to explore how this methodology could be adapted to the United States context through a community needs and assets assessment. I spoke with representatives from UNICEF, the United Nations Headquarters, the Brazilian Embassy, Rotary, community organizations, and local stakeholders while also learning from community experiences.

The work was exciting, but it was also humbling. One thing that has stayed with me, and one of the things I admire most about Gingando, is its deep respect for communities. They understand that communities cannot simply be entered — they must first be listened to, and listening requires patience, humility, and a genuine willingness to understand before acting.

Considering Gingando’s years of experience and success in Haiti and the DRC, it would have been easy to assume that a methodology that worked in one context could simply be replicated elsewhere. Yet instead of arriving with ready-made solutions, Gingando chose a more intentional path.

For me, that reflects genuine care and empathy.

It shows that Gingando’s work is not about bringing a solution to a community but building with a community. It embodies the very values at the heart of Social Capoeira: that every person has dignity, every community has strengths, and meaningful transformation happens through relationships.

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The Community and Trust That Held Me

While I was assessing whether Gingando could build protective communities in New York, I also realized that I was already experiencing one myself.

New York is not an easy city to navigate, especially as an intern. It is expensive, fast paced, and constantly moving. Yet throughout my time there, I was never alone. Friends opened their homes, families shared meals, and people created space for me in countless ways. Those acts were more than kindness. They were protection. They gave me the safety and support I needed to learn, explore, and contribute.

This experience would not have been possible without the support of The Rotary Foundation, the Duke–UNC Rotary Peace Center, and the Duke Sanford School of Public Policy. Their investment in peacebuilding and experiential learning opened this opportunity and introduced me to a community of mentors, colleagues, and friends who made this journey all the more meaningful.

I am especially grateful to Lilian Vogt and Flávio Saudade for their guidance, trust and encouragement throughout my internship, and to Alexandra Rose for opening this door. Beyond providing direction, they created a space where I was encouraged to explore, take initiative, and be creative.

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This was one of the things I valued most about this internship: that trust I was given. Unlike more structured experiences where every step is predetermined, I was given freedom to navigate, ask questions, build relationships, and discover my own way of contributing. It challenged me, but it also allowed me to flourish.

And that was when I realized that this, too, reflected Gingando’s approach with children.

Children do not grow because someone controls every step they take. They grow when they are surrounded by people who believe in them, create safe spaces for exploration, and trust them enough to discover their own potential.

Looking back, I realized that before I ever understood Gingando’s methodology academically, I had already experienced it personally.

A Full Circle

The beautiful thing about a roda is that no one leaves it unchanged. Every song, every movement, and every person who enters contributes to something greater than themselves.

When I began this internship, I thought my role was to help assess whether Gingando’s work could take root in New York. Instead, the circle shaped me too.

I arrived hoping to contribute, but I left understanding community more deeply: That before people can grow, they must first feel safe.

That before they can lead, they must first know they belong. And that transformation is never something we create alone. This is the power of roda.

And somehow, along the way, I found my place in it too.

To learn more about Gingando pela Paz, its work in Brazil, Haiti, and the Democratic Republic of Congo, or to support its growing work in the United States, explore the resources below:

• CGTN Africa Live: Gingando pela Paz’s Unique Approach to Conflict in DRC
• Brief: Gingando Global Alliance

References

Nadal, K. L. Y., Tintiangco-Cubales, A., & David, E. J. R. (2022). Kapwa. In The SAGE Encyclopedia of Filipina/x/o American Studies. SAGE Publications, Inc. https://doi.org/10.4135/9781071828960.n204

UNESCO. (2014). Capoeira circle—UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage. https://ich.unesco.org/en/RL/capoeira-circle-00892

Kristelle Pascual is a Filipino Registered Social Worker and a Duke-UNC Rotary Peace Fellow pursuing a master’s degree in international development policy at Duke University. Her current interests center on children, community development, and climate resilience, with a particular focus on creating more inclusive and sustainable approaches to social change.

Grounded in her social work practice, Kristelle is passionate about exploring decolonial approaches to development and integrating local knowledge, cultural values, and community-led solutions into the way we understand and address social challenges. Through her work and studies, she hopes to contribute to improving the quality of life of communities in the Philippines and across Southeast Asia.