Partnership in Opportunities for Employment through Technology in the Americas (POETA), a Trust for the Americas initiative funded mainly through the Microsoft Unlimited Potential Program, delivers training in information and communications technology, civic education, and job readiness to thousands of at-risk youth and people with disabilities across Latin America and the Caribbean.
"The purpose of POETA is to engage low-income populations in jobs and provide them with skills that will allow them to have a better life."
Dario Soto, Deputy Director, Trust for the Americas
Add Jesus Ramos Solis from El Salvador to the list of POETA beneficiaries who have used IT training to improve their socioeconomic situation.
Jesus is one of an estimated 1.4 million young people in El Salvador, where POETA training targets at-risk youth and people with disabilities. POETA has established centers that particularly target youth to help counter the trend of increased gang violence in El Salvador.
Jesus currently works for a company where he performs administrative duties. He says, "The IT and job-readiness training I received strengthened my previous knowledge of Microsoft applications, thus increasing the quantity and quality of my work."
Roger del Carmen Sosa Ucan is a native of Campeche, Mexico, where he lives with his wife, Virginia. As a child, Roger dreamed of being a doctor; however, a severe accident changed his life forever.
Roger was paralyzed from the waist down after a motorcycle accident with a speeding car. He became one of an estimated 50 million people in Latin America living with a disability. He says, "The idea of being restrained to a wheelchair for the rest of my life was too depressing." However, with the support of his family and the lessons learned at the POETA center, Roger was able to "breathe fresh air again."
Roger is grateful to the POETA program because, he says, "it changed my live forever and restored my confidence."
In the eastern Caribbean, 50 percent of the population is under the age of 24 and youth unemployment is high. POETA centers have responded to the risky trend of youth violence and gang membership by providing IT and civic education training, enabling young people to be more active in the labor market.
Community-Based
An estimated 80 to 90 percent of people living with disabilities in Latin America are unemployed. Eighty-two percent live below the poverty level, and most do not have health insurance. In Latin America and the eastern Caribbean, young people are vulnerable to high youth unemployment rates.
POETA opened its first two learning centers in Guatemala in 2003. To help ensure successful, sustainable programs, POETA collaborates with existing nonprofit organizations that already serve people with disabilities.
In addition to providing training to their target groups, POETA centers provide access to people in the communities in which they are located. On average, POETA allows more than 10,000 community members each year to gain access to information technology services outside of training hours.
Curriculum, Training, and Job Placement
In April 2005, Microsoft agreed to donate money and software to POETA through the Microsoft Unlimited Potential program. The funding was used to help establish 12 POETA centers in Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador, Panama, Colombia, Ecuador, and Argentina. Today, Microsoft has expanded its support to provide funds, Unlimited Potential Curriculum, and software to 47 centers in 17 countries across Latin America and the Caribbean.
POETA centers are equipped with Microsoft software and features that make computers accessible to students with disabilities. MSN Messenger, for example, facilitates communication among hearing-impaired students who don't know sign language. Screen readers—software programs that present graphics and text as speech—assist students who have visual impairments. A number of keyboard applications enable access for students who have physical impairments or motor disabilities.
The centers also use the Microsoft Unlimited Potential Curriculum, which aligns with internationally recognized certification requirements. The curriculum provides eight step-by-step courses in computer literacy, information literacy, and productivity applications. When students have finished their coursework, the centers help them find jobs.
The Beginning, Present, and Future
At the start of the program in 2003, Trust for the Americas Executive Director Linda Eddleman said her organization would seek matching funds from other companies and local businesses. "We're asking everybody to do their part. We think this is a wonderful model and we're hopeful that in the next ten or fifteen years we'll be able to establish centers throughout the hemisphere with the help of Microsoft and other companies we hope will be as generous," she said.
Today, the Trust has reached that goal, working with the support of international and in-country donors from the private and public sectors. This support, complemented by Microsoft contributions to the program, has facilitated the training of more than 10,500 participants since the program was started.
POETA Director David A. Rojas notes that "POETA now is not only an initiative that empowers civil society though the use of technology, but also through engaging different social actors—government, the private sector, communications media, and academia—with the goal of inclusion in an innovative way." He envisions the continuity of POETA as "creating changes in social development that include strong elements of social business models and a proactive new vision of philanthropy and corporate social responsibility, to create a social committed culture."
With the help of a dedicated, committed team and strong partnerships, the POETA program is set to continue its contribution to the meaningful development and empowerment of vulnerable communities in the Americas.
