The Mentoring and Skills Training programme has been empowering and enabling for Larissa. It was the doorway to getting an apprenticeship at the Gerdau Iron and Steel company. Here she will learn Industrial Mechanics and will be technically trained by them through a course of further study.
“I am very happy to have passed through the selection process, I am grateful to the Mentoring and Skills Training programme for giving me this chance to better myself and help my family. I could not have achieved so much without this important help and support.”
Larissa. Instituto Solidare 2021.
Larissa, like many on the Mentoring and Skills Training programme, is accustomed to the lack of opportunities faced by so many who live in poorer communities on the peripheries of large cities like Recife. Low levels of schooling make survival more difficult and often life in these communities is accompanied by a cycle of violence particularly against women. This is part of Brazil’s reality and particularly here in Recife.
For Larissa to access the Mentoring and Skills training now provides a great opportunity for her. She didn't believe this could happen and says:
“This has helped me and given me an opportunity that I could never have imagined could come about so quickly. The programme has not only encouraged me, but has taught me many new things. Now I am registered for an apprenticeship with a large local company Gerdau. Here I will learn a really practical skill in the area of Industrial Mechanics.”
Help Happy Child continue to help young girls like Larissa have a better future.