New hope for the young people of Villa 21

(Special, November 3, 2009).- As another example of CAF's work in the social area, CAF President & CEO Enrique García signed a technical cooperation agreement with the Nuestra Señora de Caacupé Parish of the Archbishopric of Buenos Aires. The funds will be used to reinforce the training work carried out by the Padre Daniel de la Sierra Juvenile Center.

García said, "we are putting the necessary emphasis on disadvantaged communities, as is the case of the young people of Villa 21, who live in conditions of extreme social vulnerability." "The funds will be transformed into tools which enable the teenagers to improve their possibilities of joining the labor market by maximizing the utility of the skills they learn in the training center, which, without doubt, brings new hope of improving their quality of life," the CAF president said.

The idea is to motivate, promote, assist and finance enterprises set up by the young people trained in the center by applying the concept of good design to the products they make, as well as promoting new occupations and improving infrastructure and facilities. "This approval stems from CAF's interest in contributing to building a human development agenda in its shareholder countries by strengthening capacities in vulnerable communities," García said.

The Training Center is located in the largest area of urban poverty in the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, with a large population of immigrants from Paraguay, Bolivia and the northern provinces of Argentina. In a context dominated by unemployment, violence, drug dependence and social exclusion, the Parish is engaged in intense community activity, especially occupational training for young people in situations extreme social vulnerability, which has been effective in overcoming part of the economic and social problems of the locality.

However, in addition to training, some of the young people need to be equipped with the technical and financial tools required to set up their own enterprises and improve the quality of their products. The funds granted today by CAF are intended to address this need.