Free spaces for development
To walk alongside young people through free basketball and all-round education, shaping athletes with healthy habits and committed citizens, able to lead and build a better future for the place they live in.
We develop the young leaders of our community.
Fundación PRODE is a nonprofit basketball foundation from Encarnación, Paraguay. We train kids and teens from underserved neighborhoods through free basketball: we coach the talent on the court and stay with them off it, so that by 17 each one has the tools to lead in their own neighborhood.
Mission, vision and purpose
A regional benchmark
To be the benchmark in Latin America for sports and social development, showing that grassroots work in the neighborhoods and high performance can change lives together.
Sports as social protection
We exist to bring sports where there are no facilities and no opportunities. We use basketball as a tool for social protection, community support and healthy habits for young people and their families.
The problem we work on
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Lack of opportunity puts our young people’s future at risk.
Growing up on the outskirts of Encarnación and Itapúa means facing deep barriers. With no safe spaces and no one alongside them, hundreds of teenagers are left exposed to social risk, addiction and dropping out of school.
01.
They leave at fourteen
Field data records a sharp drop in sporting and community participation from the age of 14, when disinterest, addiction and school dropout appear.
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Nowhere to play
A chronic shortage of sports grounds, equipment and instructors in vulnerable neighborhoods, which leaves low-income families out.
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No net to hold them
Vulnerable settings need a constant presence of social workers, educators and coaches acting as mentors.
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The bill arrives later
Inactivity and the absence of healthy habits in childhood create avoidable social costs in public health and in recovery centers.
What we do
Formative sport
Six stages, quality training, formative competition, assessment and follow-up.
Community and neighborhood
Neighborhood committees, clubs with their own name and identity, PRODE pride.
Education
Study support, scholarships and educational partnerships, academic incentives.
Social and family support
A social worker, support, a network of care, active participation from families.
Human development
Emotional intelligence, leadership, teamwork, resilience, autonomy and responsibility.
Health and nutrition
Medical records and check-ups, the children’s hospital, food, healthy living, preventing substance use.
Route into work
Trade schools with direct placement for the older kids.
Sporting infrastructure
Reclaimed public gyms and the High Performance Center.
Three fronts. One single purpose.
Sports are the way in; behind that we switch on health, education and development to change things at the root.
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PRODE Básquet
The way in: free community schools with professional coaching and a steady presence all year round.
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Fundación PRODE
All-round development: social work, paediatric care, medical records and scholarships for school and university.
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High Performance Center
The horizon: professional-grade facilities of our own with classrooms, a gym and a dining hall to take young people further.
The PRODE model
The traditional model
“It picks a few and shuts out many.”
Under this model only some make it to the top. Most are left out.
We change the game
Well-rounded young people
- Habits for a healthy life
- High performance
- Learning to train
- Active teaching
- Fundamentals
A healthy community
High Performance Center
Neighborhood schools
The PRODE model
“Everyone has a path to grow on.”
At PRODE we believe sport is only the starting point. Our model changes what’s possible for each young person, opening doors so that succeeding isn’t a privilege but a road anyone can walk.
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The values of a PRODE basketball player
Ten principles that guide every player on the court and off it. They aren’t signed on paper: they’re lived at every practice.
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Values of a PRODE basketball player
I grow when things get hard
After a mistake or a bad result I keep my head up, I don’t look for excuses and I work twice as hard. -
Values of a PRODE basketball player
I set the example off the court
I respect my teachers at school, I listen to my parents and I look after my family. -
Values of a PRODE basketball player
I don’t do anything halfway
I train with everything I have on every drill, whether or not anyone is watching. -
Values of a PRODE basketball player
I’m brave enough to put things right
If I mess up I own it, I apologize and I work to make it right. -
Values of a PRODE basketball player
I look after the place I’m in
I leave every court, locker room, home and neighborhood cleaner and tidier than I found it. -
Values of a PRODE basketball player
I’m loyal and people can count on me
I keep my word, I show up on time and I don’t let my team down. -
Values of a PRODE basketball player
I lend a hand expecting nothing back
I back my teammates and my community because I want to. -
Values of a PRODE basketball player
I take care of my body
I choose to eat well, rest properly and keep my life free of bad habits. -
Values of a PRODE basketball player
Every player is my brother
I treat everyone as my equal, I don’t stand for mockery and I make the new kid feel welcome. -
Values of a PRODE basketball player
I play with honor and integrity
I tell the truth, I never cheat and I respect other people’s things.
Our philosophy
We believe a ball can change the fate of a neighborhood. We don't only train athletes: we build people who can get past any setback.
Inclusion with no excuses
Sports have to be free, open and within reach for everyone, whatever their background or situation.
The court as a classroom
The discipline, respect and teamwork learned while playing carry over into everyday life.
Community before the individual
Personal growth is only complete when it reaches the family and the neighborhood.
Excellence with a purpose
We hold ourselves to the highest standard in coaching and facilities because kids from underserved neighborhoods deserve the best.
Citizens of basketball
We set out to raise whole people. Even if not all of them become professional athletes, the kids who come through pick up discipline, teamwork and leadership, and grow into leaders, coworkers and healthy members of their community.
We don't only develop professional basketball players — we also develop future coordinators, coaches, teachers, referees, ambassadors, mentors and community leaders.
Figures
These are the program's figures as of the end of September 2026. Every one of them comes straight from our own records.
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Kids who have come through PRODE schools since 2022
09·2026
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Training every week right now, ages 6 to 17, with athletic and social follow-up
09·2026
4½
Years running without a break. The program runs all year, three times a week, since 2022
09·2026
0
Neighborhood schools up and running, each with its own name and colors. A fifth one is about to open
09·2026
0
Of everyone training today are girls and teens. The program includes separate clinics for them
09·2026
0
Team and staff members, eight of them coaches
09·2026
Gs. 0
Monthly cost covered per athlete. We cover 100% of the coaching, the uniform, the practice equipment and the technical staff for every player
09·2026
0
Medical, physical therapy, dental and eye visits
09·2026
0
Kids in after-school tutoring
09·2026
0
Mothers with a trade and a way to sell what they make
09·2026
0
School scholarships secured and active
09·2026
0
University scholarships secured and active
09·2026
0
Paraguayan ID cards secured
09·2026
All
Every kid who joins has an up-to-date medical record
09·2026
Every big change starts with a first step.
With a small monthly gift you make sure a young player trains 100% free, gets their gear and grows up with tools for life.