Leonel’s Story

Leonel is working out his dreams by taking hold of all the learning opportunities that have been given to him in life.   When he was a child, he passed a test to study in a private school. In the afternoons he participated in after school clubs which were hosted by social projects.   When he was a young man, he started to give violin classes to help with costs at home.  Later on, he got a place on the Mentoring and Skills Training Project which is supported by Happy Child International.  At this point his life moved on again.

Leonel Fernandes is 20 years old, attended the Mentoring and Skills Training project in 2021.  From childhood he entertained the idea of becoming a Civil Engineer and whilst on the project engaged with the Mechanical Engineering aspect of the training.  One year after his graduation he was put forward for selection at the Gerdau Long Steel Company, a multinational company.  He got through selection and was an apprentice there for a year and a half. His experience at the company widened his horizons to develop professionally and has motivated him to study Management and Quality Control at University.   He has now been taken on as a salaried worker.

Young people from mixed race backgrounds at the University do face different forms of racism and prejudices and at times a feeling of not belonging. They also have socio-economic barriers to overcome and may need to work and study at the same time.  Leonel is one of 36,8% of young black Brazilians who have managed to integrate into the educational private sector for learning.  He has broken through barriers to make his dream come true.

He says “One of my dreams has happened which was to rebuild and extend our home i.e. my parents’ house and where he still lives. Today I dream about having my own car, and in five years’ time I want to have developed professionally enough to do consultancy work”.

 On Brazilian social media there is a new trend and the phrase says “Adults from low-income families also have dreams. Tell us what your dream is”. In the comments box many people express that they would like a better life for their parents.  

This is the same for Leonel, he shares: “I never thought I would get where I am in the sense of being able to reform our home in the way my Mum wanted.  This was out of reach to buy new furniture, the sofa she always wanted, our first dining room table Whoever sees the house now wouldn’t believe how it used to be”.

The Brazilian Philanthropist Chico Xavier once said, “Dreams don’t die, they just go to sleep in our souls, and one phrase can be enough to revive them again.”.  This is what Leonel and his family have experienced, the rebirth of his dreams that had gone to sleep due to the difficulties and challenges of life”.

• Written by Eduarda Teixeira