Will Ribeiro may never heal from the crippling motorcycle accident that nearly claimed his life and ended a promising MMA career in 2008. But it hasn’t discouraged him from helping the most vulnerable members of Brazil’s underclass.

Still paralyzed on the left side of his body, and blind in one eye, Ribeiro continues showing small improvements each passing year. It’s thanks largely to the same perseverance that made him one of the world’s top bantamweights by age 25.

Ribeiro knows his fighting days are long gone, but the stakes are now much higher. During the past five years, he’s taught martial arts at no charge to approximately 2,000 youths hailing from Rio de Janeiro’s favelas, historically controlled by violent rival drug factions. Besides instruction and discipline, students also receive uniforms, gloves and mouth guards at no charge. It’s a chance to build champions from the same humble beginnings as fellow MMA standouts Claudia Gadelha, Giva Santana, Marlon Sandro, Eduardo Dantas and Hacran Dias.

Will and his brother, Wladimir Alves, have also have also set up their own fledgling MMA promotion, Fighting For Peace (Lutando Pela Paz), on a shoestring budget. It holds its fifth event this Sunday on the grounds of Rio de Janeiro’s famed samba school, Vila Isabel. Bouts feature muay Thai as well as MMA, both amateur and professional. Several of the fighters are Ribeiro’s own students. To assist with costs, the promotion has been able to use the Shooto Brazil cage, on loan from Nova Uniao coach Andre Pederneiras.

“We saw the need to create a promotion to give impoverished athletes a shot at visibility on a national level,” Alves, the event’s organizer, as well as Ribeiro’s primary caretaker, told MMAjunkie. “Our goal is to establish our promotion as an officially recognized nonprofit organization. Until that happens, large sponsors aren’t getting involved since there’s no tax incentive for them. Our charitable work speaks for itself. It’s a fact. Once we achieve official status, we can continue to grow.”

Ribeiro has dreams of his own. He’s been working as a judge for some of Brazil’s largest regional promotions.

“I work with Shooto Brazil, Bitetti Combat, Gringo Super Fight and Web Fight Combat,” he said. “I took Mario Yamasaki’s MMA officials certification course (Yamasaki Officials Training is provided in conjunction with CABMMA, the Brazilian’s official MMA commission). I learned a lot. My objective is to be invited to work with the UFC or any other international promotion. I’d love to be invited to work on a UFC Rio card. I’m studying hard with that goal in mind.”

Alves feels there are still many hurdles to overcome. For example, Ribeiro uses the majority of his disability income to purchase vital anti-seizure and anticonvulsant medications.

“Will’s situation is complex,” Alves said. “As a hemiplegic and being bound to a wheelchair, he depends on the goodwill of others for professional opportunities. As the years go by, if he manages to eventually get around on crutches, we’re hoping that many doors will open for him. Many people don’t see him as a complete human being, and they judge him as being simply an invalid.”

(NOTE: To assist Ribeiro with continuing medical treatments, and costs associated with running a nonprofit school, log into www.paypal.com, choose “Pay or Send Money,” “Goods or Services,” enter wlad1@yahoo.com.br and choose BRL as the currency. Will Ribeiro and Wladimir Alves can also be contacted at will_ribeirovt@hotmail.com.)