Mais Caminhos × Bayswater: Seven Years of Changing Lives

The Bayswater and Mais Caminhos partnership can be measured in both numbers and names. When Bayswater first partnered with Mais Caminhos in 2019, 10 years after Mais Caminhos was founded, the mission was and still is to transform the lives of children and adolescents living in socially vulnerable situations in Rio de Janeiro.

2019: Building a Structured English Education Programme

A conversation between  María Dupuy de Lôme, director of Mais Caminhos, and James Herbertson, co-founder of Bayswater set the partnership in motion. This partnership is considered a turning point because what began as informal school support then became a structured, professional programme changing lives year after year.

The partnership led to Mais Caminhos being able to hire a teacher dedicated to building a real academic plan: a structured English curriculum with levels, planning, attendance systems, and measurable outcomes for the first time.

The first year as partners saw more than 100 students apply and sit assessments, with 20 selected to join.

2020: Supporting Students Through the Pandemic

Then came the pandemic. Classes moved online overnight, but the challenges facing Mais Caminhos' students went far beyond education. Many families struggled to access basic necessities. So, the programme adapted: resources normally spent on books were redirected to emergency food baskets, and fundraising efforts kept families afloat, all while every student stayed learning and engaged.

No student was forgotten.

By mid-2022, classrooms had filled again. Students returned in person, routines across English, Portuguese, and maths were rebuilt.

2023: From Rio to the World

In 2023, Bayswater's then Social Programme Manager, Louise, visited Rio and volunteered at the summer camp. That same year, a Mais Caminhos student named Pérola studied at a Bayswater summer school abroad. For young people in Rio's socially vulnerable communities, travelling abroad can feel impossible. Pérola proved it wasn't.

Beyond English: Creating Long-Term Opportunities

By 2025, six years into the partnership, something remarkable happened: the first cohort of students began to graduate. Many went on to university. Some started professional careers. So, Mais Caminhos built a second stage; moving students from English and school support, through university, into career support.

Because success is building an independent future.

Two former students now embody that cycle directly: they received financial support to study Marketing and Tourism and were later hired by Mais Caminhos and Caminhos Language Centre. Today they gain professional experience while continuing their studies; living proof of the cycle the programme hoped to create: students become professionals, professionals become role models, role models inspire the next generation.

2025–2026: Expanding the Programme to Reach More Children

Five new levels have been added to the English programme. Volunteer teachers from Oxford University joined the effort, and - thanks to support from Florian's Hostel - a new teacher was hired and three new groups opened for younger children, lowering the entry age.

That single change is already reshaping outcomes. Starting younger has improved retention, and it's helping the programme reach more girls. This was historically a challenge, since girls tended to drop out of the programme around age 12. The earlier a child joins, the more committed and motivated they become, and the harder it becomes for them to walk away.

In 2026 alone, 63+ students have started, with 56 currently active.

The Lasting Impact of Seven Years Together

Strip away the statistics and what's left is transformation: a structured English programme, professional teaching teams, hundreds of students given real educational opportunity, students who travelled abroad, entered university, and started careers, families supported through crisis, and young people who began to believe their future could look different.

Seven years in, the partnership has moved well past sponsorship and has become a shared story of two organisations building something lasting together.

And the next chapter is still being written.