Stories of Impact (Part 1): Meet Riquelme, a Young Leader in the marking from Recife

Who has heard of the saying that “Children and young people are the future of the World”?

This popular saying always appears in conversations about the development of people’s perspectives on life and at the same time giving hope that things will change.

It is the way that the teams at Instituto Solidare and Happy Child International think when they decide to invest in the transformation of children and young people’s lives. The motivation of a hope for a better future.

Today this future hope is demonstrated through the story of Riquelme Aves, aged twenty. This young man has transformed his world to become a young leader. Riquelme is from Recife, Brazil, one of the more deprived cities in Brazil and his story naturally shares the difficulties he has experienced to access opportunities to gain the profession that as a young person, he would prefer.

His future began to change in 2024 when some friends shared about the Mentoring and Skills Training Project”. He recalls

“I got to know about the project through some friends, and they said go and sign up. I never imagined this place would have courses for professions. At the beginning it was a struggle” he commented. “To speak the truth, I did not want to participate, it was my mother who told me to do it. I wanted to work in the area of IT and the project only had courses in administration and industrial mechanics, then I thought nothing lost, nothing gained. The respect for my mother spoke loudly.”

Riquelme decided to try a new path to see where it would lead.

Throughout the year he had practical and theory lessons on industrial mechanics, English, and the life project. He said

Everything I learnt through the project I could use for my life. I prepared a plan for my career that made me reflect on how I could change my future. Today I am a young apprentice at Gerdau Açonorte. I have already completed one year and three months. I left the project and gained this apprenticeship place.

Only helping someone to change their perspective on life can give us confirmation that we are creating a new future for these young people.

However, the biggest impact of Riquelme’s story is that in addition to transforming his life through new experiences, he decided to have an impact on children and young people at Instituto Solidare. He confirmed very proudly. “In 2025, I wanted to return”. He returned a changed person but with a vision to inspire those who tread similar paths to which he had travelled.

This story does not finish here! You can find out more about this young leader Riquelme and how his dreams have been transformed into reality. This is the first part of a series  that tells Riquleme’s story and the impact the project has had on his life and the community surrounding him.

• Written by Eduarda Teixeira