
Today in Brazil 1 in 5 young people are not working. It is usually those from low income poor families who are most likely to face difficulties entering the job market. Brazil’s reality is that there are still 31.9 million children and young people between the ages of 0 to 17 years old facing at least one type of deprivation in the area of either family income, education, access to IT, water & sanitation or housing (UNICEF report 2023). Poverty puts young people at risk of being victims or perpetrators of violence, limiting their opportunities for education or employment and therefore the chance of having a safe future.
The Mentoring and Skills Training Project delivered by one of our partner projects in Recife, Northeast Brazil is a powerful initiative helping and preparing young people to find employment. Its objectives are to help young people overcome economic challenges and to open doors for future educational and professional opportunities. This way they can build a better and a safer future for themselves and their families.
Last year 40 young people enrolled on the Mentoring and Skills Training. We are pleased to say that 17 of these young people are now in employment and 2 continued into further education. This is a real achievement especially as 11 of them secured an apprenticeship with Gerdau SA, one of the largest long steel companies in Brazil. Those still seeking work will continue to be mentored and supported by the project. All year the trainees had been learning administrative skills and mechanical skills to prepare them to apply for the company’s apprenticeship scheme. Throughout the project they are coached in improving their interpersonal skills, how to put together a good CV and the importance of team work.
Happy Child International invested £35.00 per month per trainee to enable them to be part of the Mentoring and Training Skills Project. Those trainees who are now working at Gerdau SA will be bringing home 9 times what was invested in them.
The Mentoring and Skills Training Project strengthens its local community by providing these opportunities and is a tangible commitment to local development. Please continue to give generously so that this important work can continue.
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