Matching Grants Project - District 4510

City: Assis, SP

Type of Project: Education  /  Literacy

Brief Description: This project seeks to acquire equipment needed for the “Fundação Futuro” program. The aim of this project is to take the poor youth of our city off the streets, giving them direction and education. The people involved in this project are also concerned about helping to guide these teenagers back into mainstream society. These people work to restore as many of the young people as possible to a place of responsibility in their communities and to themselves. In partnership with this project, some of the companies of our city will contract with these young people and place them as office boys or girls, receiving financial support to provide educational and material needs that can be used for all the family.

Introduction: It is the aim of the organizations described below to help find solutions to some of the many problems that plague one of the sub-populations of youth of Assis. The target population is made up of young boys and teens who come from poor families. These young people miss many educational opportunities simply due to their economic status. They do not have the money to afford the necessary schooling to help them into the areas of learning to prepare them for the future. Consequently, they often give up on themselves and attempt to find other means to accomplish something in life. How can a city keep children and teenagers from pursuing a life on the wrong side of the law? Interest them with opportunity and responsibility on the right side of life. And yes, there is a competition for the attention of this group of young people from those who operate on the wrong side of the law. What we need to do is to keep them on the right side of the law instead of trying to bring them back from the wrong side. We believe we have found that way.

Some History: Assis is an agricultural community of about 92,000 people. A sizeable number of the people are farmers and have been for many generations. From the generation we are describing in the first paragraph, many of the young people between the ages of eleven and twenty years, see no value in education. One does not need a high school diploma or a college degree to pull weeds and water crops. While there is a temptation for these young people to gravitate toward illegal activities when they are not attending school or working the farm, the programs described below are attempting to intervene and offer them an alternative lifestyle for their idle hours. In order for these youngsters to participate in the programs described below, they must have a clean record with no criminal activity. That is why it is important to reach this vulnerable target group with an invitation we hope they will find attractive; more attractive than what the competition offers.

A Solution: Based on the principle stated in the above quote, the Rotary Club Assis do Vale (RCAV), working in conjunction with the city government of Assis, has come to form an organization called Foundation of the Future, hereafter referred to as FF. The purpose of this project is to evaluate the needs of sub-social groups living and operating within the city and to make available to the members of these groups options: alternative lifestyles for them, and to use any means available to interest these young people in making a choice today that will ultimately affect their lives tomorrow. Working inside FF are a number of staff members from a wide variety of backgrounds. For example, there is a psychologist, a pedagogical coordinator, a social assistant who is the bridge between the young people along with their families and the opportunities made available to them. There are also a number of teachers who have areas of expertise and support staff members to ensure the organization runs smoothly.

Within FF is a subsidiary organization called The Youth Legion Project that works specifically with sub-social  young people between the ages of fourteen and eighteen, offering scholarships in education. Some of the classes offered can be found in the usual classroom at most any school but this form of education is found not in the classroom of established schools. Education in areas such as, English, Reading, History and Mathematics are performed in very small groups with a teacher who knows and understands the background from which the students come. These classes are offered to these special students, helping them to develop an aptitude to learn. Strange as it may seem, some of these young people simply are not interested in ‘book-learning.’ For them, there is yet another range of alternatives. Classes given by teachers proficient in their fields such as, Gardening and Carpentry, and for those who care to exploit their dormant talents, Theater is another course designed to take some of these young people from the streets and give them a life doing what they can do best: act.

What happens to these young people is they are given another shot at life? Concepts like responsibility and independence are made real to them by training them for service work in supermarkets as baggers; Zona Azul, which is the parking system for much of downtown Assis. These youngsters sell parking permits for certain areas of the city, giving them a chance to learn and earn from being responsible and giving them an opportunity to advance in their alternative lifestyle. Literacy training, close contact with Social Workers and Psychologists put these young folks on a track they never knew existed. There is, however, a limit to the assets FF has to expend in favor of these needy youngsters. At one of the local universities, some of the young people learn about computers, how to operate them and maintain them. The university has instructors who work closely with these special youngsters to help them over some of the educational rough spots that can surface. Some of these kids have not done well in school classrooms and a result of this has created gaps in their education. There is a solution to help get these young people on track and keep them there.

With your Help we can Manage: Unlike other forms of assistance which meet only the basic needs of food and shelter, one of the greater aims of this project is to give the participants the education, training and rudimentary experience they need to enter the job market to provide for themselves and ultimately, their (future) families. The volunteer members of Rotary Club Assis do Vale are always available to help these young people learn a new way of life, inside society, teaching them about responsible living, helping them learn a new way to earn money through gardening, working as a carpenter, dancing as both a hobby and career, painting or the technical education in computers and other forms of modern technology.

We’re asking you to partner with us financially to keep this project underway and functional. Our resources are limited, but with help from the larger Rotary community, we can continue to see success and clean up the lives of these young people and keep them off the streets, helping them to be productive citizens of a rapidly developing culture.

About the Foundation: FF was founded in August of 1989. As of now it is maintained by RCAV and the Assis city hall. It has a staff of seven professionals. Currently, there are 180 young people in the program with approximately 600 more waiting for their opportunity. The socio-economic level of these young people is low. Through the program, they have learned that there is an advantage to working on the right side of the law and with society instead of against it. They have reached a fork in the road and with the right kind of information, are able to make informed choices about their lives and futures.

“It is not necessary to invent new things. The recipe formula is known:
offer the adolescent a place where he is well accepted, respected and try
to help him get back his self-esteem, presenting him with the pleasure of
learning and a dedication to work” (Gilberto Dimenstein).

Fundação Futuro was created by Rotary Club Assis do Vale as a philanthropic organization with public interest, endowed with judicial personality of private rights and no profitable aims.

Address: Fundação Futuro
Rua João Pessoa, nº 50-B
19.800-000 Assis - SP - Brazil

Partner Contribution Requested (33%) Club or DDF - Assis - SP: US$ 3,500.00

Additional Information: Pictures of Project Site