New youth employment scheme provides hope for our young people

Last Tuesday, I went to visit Bilela at her new job at Colegio Euroamericano, Pachacamac.

Bilela has been one of our more difficult young people because of her severe lack of self-confidence and self-worth. Dumped in a care home at the age of 7 and neglected by her family throughout most of her young life, it's not surprising that she's still suffering from the symptoms of rejection. She has a speech impediment which, in a country where anti-discrimination laws are seldom exercised, makes finding work much harder.

But a couple of weeks ago, Bilela was overjoyed to find out she'd been accepted at Colegio Euroamericano (Euroamerican School) as a kitchen helper. Sr. Aldo Lazo del Carpio (pictured right), owner of the school, is supporting The Colour of Hope by giving jobs to some of our young people. Bilela is the first to benefit from this new scheme. It is a great opportunity for her financially speaking and will also give her excellent work experience. So far she's doing very well and really enjoys the school's friendly atmosphere.

Thank you very much Sr. Aldo for all your support, and thank you also to the staff of Colegio Euroamericano for giving Bilela such a warm welcome to your team.

People's Opinion on Global Issues

We all know what the Seven Wonders of the World are, the Top 500 Companies and even the World's Strongest Man. Yet there is no centralised information about what the biggest problems of the world are, at least not from the people's point of view.

Felipe, from Costa Rica, has begun an internet poll about global issues and is hoping to collect enough information to be able to kick-start social projects based on the results. Visit his website at http://topissues.intribu.org/ to cast your vote and make your opinion count, or propose what you think is the world's most important problem this year.