Training for Youth with Disabilities in Brazil

The Trust for the Americas is committed to support young people, from vulnerable communities, to overcome obstacles by teaching courses in professional and technological skills and offering guidance for new economic opportunities. Your support has helped us reach young people in Brazil through our Social Franchise POETA (Partnership for Economic Opportunities through Technology in the Americas). We have many success stories of beneficiaries of our POETA Center in Brazil, but today we would like to share a very special one.

Renan, 24, is a young man with an intellectual disability from São Paulo, Brazil. He lives with his parents and brother, in one of the neighborhoods with the highest rates of poverty and inequality of São Paulo. Prior to joining the POETA Center, Renan had little aspirations and believed that his disability would not allow him to get a job and gain professional experience. However, when he found out about the Center, he became really eager to acquire technology skills that would allow him to grow professionally and personally.

Once he joined the Center, he started taking courses in Computer Science with the hopes of finding a job one day and being a productive person of society. While still enrolled in the course, Renan started working with a company in the human resources department. In this company, his leadership and communication skills really stood out. He started giving ideas that would improve the communication on the company’s website and increase different marketing tools to attract users’ attention. Renan says, “I wish to continue learning how to use technology so that one day I can be the best designer of Brazil”.

With your support, we help youth like Renan, who otherwise wouldn’t have easy access to technology and its benefits. People with disabilities and/or economic and social barriers are mostly underrepresented in the fields related to technology. We kindly encourage you to keep donating so that young entrepreneurs like Renan can make a better future for themselves and their families.