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Alberto João Avez, 25, found himself in a complicated situation in his home country, Angola. He lived in the capital, Luanda, with his peasant parents and three of his six siblings, but did not see many possibilities for building a better future. To escape violence and unemployment in the country – which affected about 25% of the population – in 2017 he gathered the courage and crossed the Atlantic Ocean to start a new life in Brazil.
Since then, the Maré Complex in Rio de Janeiro has become his home. Living with his brother, he challenged himself to learn everything he could to improve his education and integrate into Brazilian culture. “I couldn’t understand much of Brazilian Portuguese, which is very different from ours,” says Alberto. It was then that, through the partnership with Redes da Maré, he learned about our free technology courses from the Recode Movement. “I had excellent learning experiences. With the platform, I learned a lot and hope to learn much more with the practice of my daily life,” he highlights.
The training path, offered through the Recode platform and in-person dynamics by social educator Aline Galdino, lasted 150 hours over three months. Of everything he learned, Alberto values knowledge of text editors and creating a good resume, as well as notions of entrepreneurship and programming. He also says he recognized the importance of ethical and conscious use of technology.
Next steps
Alberto now works as a freelance designer, but plans to start a business. He also teaches some friends programming online and is developing a broader project to teach technology and what he has learned to others, “as a way of helping others,” in his words. For now, he remains discreet. Excited, he guarantees that in 2019 the project should already be on the street.
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