Training for Youth with Disabilities in Brazil

The Partnership for Economic Opportunities through Technology in the Americas, POETA, the Trust for the Americas flagship Initiative, understands the challenges faced by Youth with Disabilities, particularly in relation to their inclusion in the job market. To this end, the Trust for the Americas (http://trustfortheamericas.org) works with Local Partner AVAPE to train Youth with Disabilities and to equip them with job readiness skills crucial for their successful job inclusion. 

 Thanks to your support, our program is rapidly progressing and our youth continues to work hard and strive to advance in their education for a better future. As you know, our partner AVAPE (http://www.avape.org.br/portal/) provides the infrastructure and the necessary personnel to run sophisticated and complete educational programs.

 There are many success stories with big impact in our POETA Centers. Today, we are going to introduce you the story of Daysee Jessica.

Daysee is a 29 years old young woman and lives in a vulnerable area of Joao Pessoa. Two years ago, she suffered an accident on her motorcycle, and loose one of her extremities on the lower limb. After being in the hospital for forty days, and a long period of physiotherapy, her new mobility condition was very difficult to accept.  She decided to continue studying and think towards her future.

She heard about the POETA Center from other participant and social networks, and get into contact with the local coordinator of the Center. After a personal meeting, they decided that her profile fits with the Personal Finance training course, and increased her knowledge and awareness towards the importance of saving, budgeting, analyzing payments, home economics, and finance. She also attended the Job readiness and IT skills training courses.

After her very good performance in the POETA Center, she was offered a job as front desk officer. Now, Daysse tell us that she feels more confident and benefited the most by her improved ability to interact socially and build personal and professional relationships after the accident.

Thanks to your help, The Trust for the Americas has been able to train more than 379 youth in Brazil. Since its creation in 2004, POETA has supported more than 161 training centers that have allowed more than 103,000 participants to develop the skills and attitudes to take on new roles within the economy and society.

 We cordially invite you to keep supporting our efforts to build a better future for youth in Latin America and the Caribbean. A small donation can mean a big help for providing more and new opportunities to vulnerable communities in the region.

Once again, thank you for your contributions and thanks you for giving young people with disabilities the chance of a better future!

Links:

• Know more about our programs

POETA - Partnership for Economic Opportunities through Technology in the Americas, understands the challenges of our beneficiaries with disabilities to develop professional skills. Therefore, POETA works within these defiances to create skilled workers to satisfy the labor demand in Brazil.

Thank to your support, the youth participants have been capable of continue their education to build a better future. As you know, our partner AVAPE provides infrastructure and the necessary personnel to run a sophisticated and complete educational program. They also care about the sustainability of the center through different projects to keep the results in a continued way in the time. Their actions allow people like Eder to create new dreams that can give him a better quality life.

Eder is a 20 years old young man who become part of POETA in September 2014 through the AVAPE learning program. He focused in obtain IT skills such as how to use Word, basic Excel, among others, software that has been donated by Microsoft. In the same time, he was participating in the job readiness training and earned an honor mention. Finally, he finished his training process with the course “personal finance” that provide skills to create a basic financial planning based on real personal situations to provide solutions mainly for the participant familiar and personnel environment.

Nowadays, Eder is proud to apply all the knowledge and skills he got into the POETA Program. He become an active member of his community and obtained a job to support his family in different ways. For Eder, the most important thing he could achieved in POETA Program was the ability to establish professional relationships in a proper way, allowing him discover new skills and also giving him the chance to get confidence to face job interviews. About the future, Eder tells us “I feel ready to manage my finances and income, it was so important for me to learn how to save money, how to build a budget and control my expenses, now I am ready to face the challenges and the opportunities of a job”.

Since its creation in 2004, POETA has supported more than 161 training centers that have allowed more than 103,000 participants to develop the skills and attitudes to take on new roles within the economy and society.

Thanks to your help, The Trust for the Americas has been able to train more than 379 youth in Brazil. We kindly invite you to keep supporting our efforts to bring more and new opportunities for the youth in Latin-American and the Caribbean.

Thank you again for your support in our cause.

Links:

• Social Franchise POETA
• The Trust for the Americas

This past 2014, The Trust for the Americas celebrated the first ten years of POETA, its flagship program. POETA, the Partnership for Economic Opportunities through Technology in the Americas, was born in Guatemala in 2004 as a small pilot project aimed at equipping people with disabilities with the necessary technological skills they needed to enter the job market.

Throughout these past ten years, the POETA Program has grown from a small pilot project into a full-fledged venture with operations in 17 countries throughout the Americas and has expanded to include young people, women, as well as people with disabilities as direct beneficiaries of the program.  In these ten years, the POETA Program has trained more than 95,000 people in technology skills, benefited more than 1,000,000 people through access to technological spaces, and has intermediated more than 23,000 economic opportunities in the form of employment, internships, entrepreneurships, and social business for POETA Participants.  

Needless to say, we are very proud of how far the POETA Program has come.   In 2014 we also celebrated the launching of the POETA Social Franchise, a social development model built upon the experiences, best practices, and learned lessons we’ve learned during these past years.

During these years, POETA has been able to affect real change to the lives of its participants by providing them with vocational training opportunities and by equipping them with soft skills needed to enter the labor market.   

One of the lives we have been able to impact is that of Marco Aurelio.  He is a 21 year old participant in Brazil. Marco Aurelio has an intellectual disability. During the time Marco Aurelio has spent at the POETA Center, he has focused his efforts in acquiring technological skills that he, in turn, has applied to other facets of his life. “It’s not just technology skills that our participants acquire, but rather the ability to learn and to develop critical thinking, to develop creative-process skills, and the ability to interact with others” as our Coordinator Felipe Ramos mentions.   

Marco Aurelio has been able to develop not only technological skills but also professional ones. He’s been able to network with other colleagues and has managed to master soft skills, something that has empowered him in several levels.  One of which is his financial skills.  Marco Antonio participated in a personal finances course, offered by the POETA Center, which has allowed him to work towards building a more secure financial future. "I want to work hard to improve my financial situation to buy a house for my parents. I will use what I have learned in my personal finance course and I will save my money to make my parents’ and my dreams come true.”

Thanks to your contribution, POETA is able to create many opportunities for young people like Marco Aurelio.   We invite you to continue supporting our projects and to continue making our young participants’ dreams become more of a reality.  

Once again, thank you for your contributions and thanks you for giving young people with disabilities the chance of a better future!

Links:

• The Trust for the Americas
• AVAPE, our Local Partner in Brazil

Our program the Partnership for Economic Opportunities Trough Technology in the Americas –POETA, understands the challenges that exist for our beneficiaries with disabilities to develop professional skills, and it works within these challenges to create skilled workers to satisfy the labor demand in Brazil. 

    Thanks to your support, our program is rapidly progressing and our youth continues to work hard and strive to advance in their education for a better future. As you know, our partner AVAPE (http://www.avape.org.br/portal/) provides the infrastructure and the necessary personnel to run sophisticated and complete educational programs. In addition, our local partners ensure that the Center is sustainable by putting in resources for the projects so that we may continue to see results. Your support has allowed Loyane to advance her education and follow her dreams in order to better her life and that of her family.

    Loyane, only 19 years old, lives in a vulnerable area with a high social risk. She is a young woman with physical and intellectual disabilities. She has been able to advance in her academic training and today she is in her first year of high school. She arrived at the Center thanks to her sister. Her training was focused primarily on gaining IT skills through learning the basics of Word and Excel, programs provided by Microsoft, she also participated in the Job Readiness Course and Personal Finance training. Thanks to her effort and dedication, she was able to participate in the Youth Program Candango (Apprentice) offered by the Government of the Federal District of Brasilia, and obtained positive results.

    Through the application of the tools learnt at the POETA Center, Loyane was able to develop professionally. Through the use of accessible technology and the different modules offered, Loyane increased her knowledge and awareness towards the importance of saving, budgeting, analyzing payments, home economics, and finance. All of this strengthened her personal, professional and family life. Today, Loyane applies learned skills and expertise provided though the courses in job training and social inclusion of people with disabilities, to participate and to apply for job openings that previously seemed unattainable.

    The POETA program, since its creation in 2004, has opened more than 161 training centers that have allowed more than 103,000 participants to develop the skills and attitudes that will give them the tools to take on new roles within the economy and society.  Your contribution has strengthened the ability of the Trust to to train more than 522 youth with and without disabilities in Brazil. We invite you to continue to support our projects. Each and every one of your donations helps us to grow and continue the work that aims to allow all youth in Latin America and the Caribbean to have better opportunities for the future and be agents of change in their communities. Learn more about POETA at: http://www.trustfortheamericas.org/

The Partnership for Economic Opportunities through Technology in the Americas, POETA, the Trust for the Americas flagship Initiative, understands the challenges faced by Youth with Disabilities, particularly in relation to their inclusion in the job market. To this end, the Trust for the Americas works with Local Partner AVAPE to train Youth with Disabilities and to equip them with job readiness skills crucial for their successful job inclusion.  

Thanks to your generous support, the Trust for the Americas was able to impact the lives of many young people with disabilities during this quarter in Brazil.  Through our partnership with AVAPE, we were able to provide vocational training and technical tools to these young people enabling them to access better economic opportunities and offering positive changes for their lives.  

One of the benefited participants was Rafael, a 27 year old resident of Brasilia.  Rafael has an intellectual disability. Prior to his experience at the POETA Center, Rafael completed high school and held two different jobs, but had difficulty interacting with his supervisors and colleagues. One day Rafael saw a flyer of the project and decided to join.   Rafael learned digital literacy with emphasis on learning how to use Word and Excel.  He also took the job readiness course and a personal finances class.

Rafael has been able to apply all of the knowledge he acquired on his personal and professional life.  He feels more confident and is currently on the market for a new job.  The program curriculum was designed not just to offer technical knowledge, but also to have a positive impact on Rafael’s life.  In his case, Rafael benefited the most by his improved ability to interact socially and build personal and professional relationships.

The POETA Program has more than 160 Centers throughout Latin America and has provided more than 103,000 participants with the opportunity to develop technical skills as a way to transform their lives and to assume new roles in their communities and environments.

You are certainly a central part of this effort. Your contributions allow us to continue working for economic opportunities for youth with disabilities and we thank you for your continued support.

Thanks again for supporting POETA!

If you want to learn more about our other initiatives, please visit http://www.trustfortheamericas.org/

Links:

• The Trust for the Americas Website