Thank you for supporting The Association for the Cohesive Development of the Amazon (ADCAM), which provides youth in Manaus, Brazil the chance to reach their utmost potential. Your donation gives a youth apprentice like Alberto the supplies they need for one semester in the Youth Apprentice Program. Alberto is grateful for such assistance and provided a message below:

The business administration course will improve my knowledge, open doors to a professional career and give me the opportunity to perfect how I express myself in a professional way. I plan to take advantage of every minute of this course and give it all I’ve got to surmount any difficulties and reach my goal, keeping focused on how it will help me toward a better future. I thank you for your support to enroll in this course and for helping youth like us who face such great difficulties in their lives.

Friedman Group at UBS, thank you for your generous support of ADCAM!

I wish to tell you a little about myself and my objectives in taking the Youth Apprentice course. Those of us in the course are young, but should we get support to finish, the world has much more to offer us than we can look forward to without this education.

I live with my mom but one day I want to be independent. That’s why I give my best so that I can go far in this long and difficult road. I’m very thankful for the opportunity. It’s people like you who help to move the world forward through your generosity. I know for certain that education is fundamental for any professional success. Because I get a chance to take this course, I’ve leaped ahead of many people. But it’s not to leave them behind, but to be able to help them later on to also pursue their dreams.

Thank you all for supporting ADCAM and Igor!

Thank you for supporting The Association for the Cohesive Development of the Amazon (ADCAM), which provides youth in Manaus, Brazil the chance to reach their utmost potential. Your donation gives a youth apprentice like Daiane the supplies they need for one semester in the Youth Apprentice Program. Daiane is grateful for such assistance and provided a message below:

I live with my parents and my three brothers. Right now, I’m the only one working. My mom is a housewife and my dad takes work when he can get it. My brothers are studying. Through the Youth Apprentice Program, I got a one-year contract to work at a company. It’s been great. I’m learning a lot and putting into practice what I studied in the program. In this course, I’ll achieve a professional certification, which is what the job market demands these days, and I’m thinking about going on to college when I finish.

Vivek, your generosity will help Daiane and her family for years to come. Thank you!

Thank you for supporting The Association for the Cohesive Development of the Amazon (ADCAM), which provides youth in Manaus, Brazil the chance to reach their utmost potential. Your donation gives a youth apprentice like Alex the supplies they need for one semester in the Youth Apprentice Program. Alex is grateful for such assistance and provided a message below:

My name is Alex. I’m 21 and I live in a little house in the neighborhood of Mauazinho. There are seven people in my household including my parents, three younger siblings, and my older sister and her 11-month old baby. My parents are out of work and I’m the only one working. I finished high school and I have an internship with a company where I receive minimum wage. I enrolled in the business administration course with the hopes I might get permanent employment with the company or perhaps with one of their suppliers. I’m so happy to have this opportunity and I plan to make the best of it.

Thank you, Vivek and Pooja, for giving Alex this opportunity!

Thank you for supporting The Association for the Cohesive Development of the Amazon (ADCAM), which provides youth in Manaus, Brazil the chance to reach their utmost potential. Your donation gives a Youth Apprentice like Paulo the supplies they need for one semester in the Youth Apprentice Program. Paulo is grateful for your assistance and provided a message below:

I believe that life always opens doors for those who study, and ADCAM has given us youth a chance to better ourselves and prepare for the workplace. For me, this course is important because it will give me technical certification and that will improve my chances and my family’s situation. I can now even dream of one day going to the university. The scholarship makes it all possible and while today, a scholarship benefits students in ADCAM who cannot afford to pay tuition, in the future the education we receive will also benefit others. Just as we have benefited, we’ll be more able to offer help and give back.

Thank you, Brian and Malissa, for standing in solidarity with Paulo as he continues to dream big.

Thank you for supporting The Association for the Cohesive Development of the Amazon (ADCAM), which provides youth in Manaus, Brazil the chance to reach their utmost potential. Your donation gives a Youth Apprentice like Ismael the supplies they need for one semester in the Youth Apprentice Program. Ismael is grateful for such assistance and provided a message below:

To speak of my life is to speak of many challenges and the perseverance to overcome them. I’m thankful that my parents encouraged me, in spite of our family’s financial difficulties, to pursue education because they knew that without it, it’s very difficult for a person to progress. Their encouragement gave me the faith to take advantage of opportunities that arose and to know that even though many obstacles would appear in my path, I could overcome them. And now it’s happening with this opportunity to participate in the Youth Apprentice Program.

It’s been said, “A mind expanded by a new idea can never return to the size it was before.” I believe that’s true and also that to truly move forward, one must work and apply effort to that idea.

Thank you, Tom, for helping Ismael persevere.

Thank you for supporting The Association for the Cohesive Development of the Amazon (ADCAM), which provides youth in Manaus, Brazil the chance to reach their utmost potential. Your donation gives a Youth Apprentice like Adelia the supplies they need for one semester in the Youth Apprentice Program. Adelia is grateful for such assistance and provided a message below:

My name is Adelia and I’m 19 years old. Since I finished high school and entered the Youth Apprentice Program, I’ve had a chance to put into practice everything I’ve learned.

There are 10 people who live in my household including my mom, my step-father, my siblings and nephews and nieces — three families altogether.

My plan is first to study the Business Administration course in the Youth Apprentice Program and then enter college in Business Administration. I think the Youth Apprentice course will be an excellent preview. It’s an area I’ve always been interested in and I want to deepen my knowledge of it.

Thank you, Chris, for giving Adelia a chance to succeed.

Thank you for supporting The Association for the Cohesive Development of the Amazon (ADCAM), which provides youth in Manaus, Brazil the chance to reach their utmost potential. Your donation gives a Youth Apprentice like Daniele the supplies they need for one semester in the Youth Apprentice Program. Daniele is grateful for your assistance and provided a message below:

My name is Daniele. I’m 18 years old and working as an administrative assistant in the human resources division of the Amazon Universal Fitness Company. I want to pursue a career in this field. I’ve finished high school and I’ve always been a good student and also participated in extra-curricular activities.

My parents are self-employed. Together they make only twice the minimum wage. My family is struggling to finish construction on a little house but my mother suffers from scoliosis and other spinal problems and the treatment costs are very high. My father needs glasses and those costs are high too. We put health first and the other things, like finishing the house, we take care of as we can.

I plan to go to college to get a degree in business administration. I’m dedicated to my studies because I want to take care of my parents and help them any way I can. I appreciate the scholarship because, at this time, we don’t have the means to pay for my education.

Thank you, Tom, for giving Daniele the chance she deserves.

Thank you all for supporting the Association for the Cohesive Development of the Amazon (ADCAM). Your generous donations allow Lorena from Manaus, Brazil to participate in a youth apprentice program for another semester. She is extremely grateful for the opportunity to continue the program, a two year training course that provides students with a year of professional education before mentoring them through a year as interns in their chosen field. Read her testimonial below:

“I see this course as a door opening in my life. I’ve had the chance to work in administration at an advanced level, which has increased my skills and given me diverse experience; that’s why I’m so happy to know I have a scholarship to continue my studies. I guarantee that I will not fail to do my utmost because I know that opportunities like this don’t come along every day. Even though sometimes it’s a battle to progress in my studies, the staff here believes in us and in our potential and they invest their time and money to help us succeed. It’s so important to have someone who believes in you. I know this that completing this course will help me get a good job.”

Meha, Chris, Rhea, and ‘a friend,’ your support is instrumental in giving Brazilian teenagers like Lorena the chance to realize their potential.

My name is Ivanete and I’m 17 years old.  I was born to a family of little means and only my father worked, so paying for education could never be a priority. My parents never had the chance to complete even elementary school. So when my brother and I got scholarships to go to school at ADCAM we really worked hard to make our parents proud. It’s changed every aspect of our lives.

Now I have the opportunity to participate in the Youth Apprentice Program. I have many goals and I work on them every day. To enter a course like this is a dream for me. In spite of all the bad things in our world, I continue to tread my chosen path; I stay away from drugs and prostitution. I plan to have a better life and give the same to my family who has always been at my side to support me. I know my goals may not be easy, but my desire to achieve them is strong.