Train 360 youths for the workplace in Sao Paulo

Three years ago we had to leave the house we were occupying because the rent was too expensive and we needed more space. We wanted to expand.

We moved to a very poor neighborhood in the east district of São Paulo. The neighborhood was unsafe, but the rent was cheap and the premises were very spacious.

We were very excited to have a place to expand. Furthermore, the neighborhood was in need of help and it was quite easy to attract youths and other needy people to our association.

So we started to expand. We added new courses, we trained more youths. Then, on top of training youths for the marketplace - which was our original goal - we merged with another association and began to take care of Down Syndrome children that needed special care. We also started preparing ourselves to provide care to the elderly and to kindergarden children. It was so exciting to see that we were growing and helping more and more people.  

But trouble was right around the corner.

• The neighborhood was really unsafe. We were burgled twice.
• We had to spend money to replace the equipment that was stolen and to improve security;
• Teachers were reluctant to come teach in a place that was unsafe. This is sad to say but such is reality;
• We lost our focus and moved away from our original mission. We were still keeping more and more youths off the street, which was okay but not good enough.

Upon realizing the mistakes we had made we decided to dramatically turn around:

• In the beginning of 2016 we moved to a smaller, safer location;
• We moved back to our original mission and stuck to it. The only thing we now do is TRAIN YOUTHS FOR THE MARKETPLACE;
• We downsized the whole organization and have become very efficient;
• We hired a new team of teachers. All of them are professionals. No volunteers which sometimes are not as commited as we want them to be;
• We have a new, very professional management team. The new Board of Directors is very motivated and very involved in the activities of the association.

This was a stressful but also very enriching experience. We are so happy that we have learned a number of things:

• Stay focused. Don´t move away from your original project;
• Do a thorough study on where you want to be located before moving: “Cheap can be expensive”;
• Do not expand unless you are sure your structure is properly sized for your new activities;
• Stay slim.

One learns a lot on the road!

And by the way, no one was left behind. The association we had merged with continued to provide help.

Of course none of this could have been possible without your support.

Thank you again so much!