The computer as a means to create values

 Hugo Vilchez

Maikel Castro is not very tall and very peaceful; but now, he looks different. It is not his suit that makes him look different; it is because now he is sure of what he wants to do with his life. His goal has driven him to where he is today at Hewlett Packard, working as Technical Support analyst.

Marilyn de Silva, general manager of Personal Improvement through Technology (Superatec), still sees him as her baby. She says: “Of course! He belongs to the class of 2003, the first one. He has changed. When that young man got here he wouldn’t raise his head, his voice could not be heard”.

“My work mates tell me that they will have my statue put up in my neighborhood, because I have learned and improved myself so much” sys Castro, 22 years old, with a proud smile on his face.

He says that at home, everyone asks him what he’s doing; if they know he did the Superatec Workshops, then they ask about the studies. They want to know if it’s good, if there is a lot to be learned. “I tell them about my own experience. My brother also took the program and he now works here, for the same company”.

 

Improve, learn

 In the training centers they even learn how to prepare a resume; they are offered incentives to achieve economic independence, for example. “When they complete the program, they have the possibility of entering the job market and we insert them in the labor market. We believe we should accompany them, at least, to their first formal labor experience” says de Silva

The centers are not the property of Superatec. They make alliances with companies or organizations. The workshops last three months. So far, 512 young men have entered the labor market.

The first center was created at Parque Social Padre Manuel Aguirre of the Universidad Católica Andrés Bello (UCAB), in Antímano. “We got a lease for the space. It has 45 computers. The other centers are at La Pradera, La Vega Parrish; in the Catia Community Center (close to the Propatria Metro station) and another in Cagua (Aragua), each with two rooms that fit 30 computers”.

Each center receives from five to seven schools plus the boys from the communities; with ages ranging from 16 to 24 years old. Superatec goes to the educational units, establishes alliances with community leaders or organizations that operate in these communities with the purpose of attracting students, men and women.

The major concern of the non governmental institution is desertion. Most of the deserting students are males who quit high school studies for a number of reasons and get involved in the world of drugs and crime. They seek to promote change in their lives

“We are 78% effective because we get closer to these young men, we do follow-up and we incorporate their parents in the process, mainly to make them understand the importance of keeping their children in the program, as some kind of prevention”.

Superatec becomes part of the communities. Their workshops have two shifts: morning and afternoon. They adapt to the schedules of the boys, who are to go three times a week: twice for technology training and one for human or labor education. “We teach the country we love”, says da Silva

 

A five year old kid

Superatec is the dream of a Belgian citizen who lived in Venezuela for 15 years, during the 1970s and the 1980s “German De Kesel came to Venezuela as an employee of a multinational corporation and this social work project is his way of giving thanks to the country that received him with open arms. The originating capital came out of his pocket. In 2002 he established an alliance with the Parque Social Padre Manuel Aguirre.

HP is involved from the United States. De Kesel used to live there, where he worked as a management consultant. He had contacts with the HP head office in Silicon Valley. There, he talked about the project to people from Cisco and HP, told them of his project to establish training centers that would have an impact on the lives of low income young men and women. “That was where the HP Venezuelan office embraced the project, and has been one of the sponsors of Superatec since 2002, through the contribution of technology”.