Bolivia, 2009

Outreach International creates a new model for children and youth by investing in them with educational and livelihood opportunities. That’s the model that Red, a young man in Bolivia followed, and it has helped him re-invent himself.

Red is a tall, dark-haired young man. To look at him, he seemed full of potential. But as long as he could remember, his family struggled with poverty in Sapilica, in the Bolivian mountains.

And as long as he could remember, his father came home drunk.

“Maybe it’s his struggles to make a living. But my father does not take care of us. He drinks half of the time and works little, and is too drunk to do any work at home,” Red says. “There is not enough money for the family to survive and we are trying to find ways to maintain our farm and animals. My brothers and sisters immigrated to Argentina, because there was no opportunity here to earn a living. Those of us at home help my mother with the farming, animals, and whatever we can to make money.”

As he arrives at his small home, Red cannot study, instantly jumping in to help his mother. His father does not want him participating in any other activities besides those. “I feel like a robot,” he says, “Only doing what I’m told.”

But more than that, other community members don’t think he will be any different than his father. “If I follow in my father’s steps, I will be the same as him in the future.”

That’s when Maria del Carmen knocked on his door.

A new model

Maria is the human development facilitator from Alcance Bolivia (Outreach International’s partner organization). She had organized a community group, and one especially for the youth who had a very narrow future. In Red, she saw great potential, and on this day, she invited him to take the hairdressing course with other youth.

Red decided quickly; he didn’t have to think twice about it.

Within weeks, he learned to cut and style hair and earned his certificate. He realized that helping people pleased him. “If they don’t have money, I don’t charge them, and it still makes me happy. I know what it’s like to be without funds.” 

And then, another educational opportunity arose: learning to vaccinate animals. After learning this skill, Red said, “I enjoy helping people vaccinate their livestock, and can charge less if I want. I can now make money, although it is not a lot."

There’s no stopping him

But Red doesn’t want to stop there. Next he wants to study medicine to become a “promoter of health.” These opportunities gave Red a new model: the model to thrive and have his own dreams.

Now, sitting outside his home, with a new sense of self, Red smiles with confidence. "Before, no one cared what I did or said. They figured like my father that I would get drunk and fight. Now my parents allow me to take part in my own activities. They are happy with what I make. People look up to me, and listen to my opinion. The group has also chosen me as a representative, and I help with record-keeping."

With little opportunity, Red might have been just another poverty statistic. Now he is a young man with skills and a future. And an identity that is respected.

He is thriving, thanks to the work of facilitators and community members through Alcance Bolivia.

“There are now other youth being motivated by what we are doing; they also want to be different. I can show them how.”