Social responsibility has always been one of Datamar’s premises. For this reason, the company is one of the main sponsors of VidaGol, a non-profit organization that aims to motivate young people to study and work.
Among VidaGol’s areas of activity are sports, education, and creating employment and cultural opportunities, keeping the following objectives in mind:
Sports: offer the opportunity to be part of a community through the practice of sport, regardless of ability.
Education: helping young people to learn in a dynamic and fun way so that they may learn to love the learning process.
Job opportunities: VidaGol Café is the project’s first concrete step in creating job and entrepreneurship opportunities for young people.
Cultural opportunities: expand the horizons of young people, providing opportunities through cultural experiences through traveling and getting to know people from different backgrounds.
“Quality education and better opportunities take young people much further. Believing in this perspective has changed the lives of many students that passed through our institution. There are many challenges ahead, but we can go further and further with one step at a time”, says Geisa Amaral, VidaGol Coordinator.
Among the initiatives offered by VidaGol are courses, VidaGol High School (for those in the last year of high school) and VidaGol Gap Year, which aim to capacitate young people for higher-ed and the job market. As part of this program, some students joined Datamar as apprentices in the last three months, getting hands-on experience on how a company works, in addition to being introduced to new cultures, given that Datamar is a multicultural company, different work tools, and technologies.
Each Datamar department welcomed one of the young people according to their profile and interests. According to them, the experience was very positive.
“It was an incredible first-contact experience with a corporate environment,” says Laura Freire, who joined the Administrative Department.” All employees seem to really enjoy what they do, and that is contagious. Also, they were always willing to help in whatever way possible. It was a very rich learning experience”, she added.
“This experience was very good and important for my professional life, as I was able to see how the day-to-day in a company is,” says Pedro Gomes, who worked in the Support and After-Sales department.
“I did something new for me, and I believe I was useful for my department. I learned to work with new platforms, and at the same time, I was reading about topics that were completely different from what I was used to. It has added a lot to my writing skills and other areas of my life. A completely valid experience” commented Rebeca Silva, who worked at DatamarNews.
“My time with Datamar was a unique chance for a young man like me because there is hardly an opportunity like this where I come from, so I embraced it to gain expertise and see how it can prepare me for the future,” claims João Tobias, who worked in the Information Technology department. “I had a very bad view of a corporate environment. I thought I would see lots of paperwork, mess, and shouting, but I didn’t. I enjoyed my tasks and didn’t feel under pressure from it. I took it lightly”, he completes.
“I thought it was a wonderful experience, as every day I discovered something new, and it was great for showing me a new perspective and taking me out of my comfort zone since I had never imagined myself in an office before,” says Anna Fonseca, who was part of the Business department Intelligence.
“It was all very new. I learned a lot about different subjects, which has given me a whole new set of skills for my life”, says Letícia Nascimento, who worked in the Commercial department.
“I’ve always said I didn’t see myself working in an office, but this experience is making me reconsider. Living this routine and learning new things was awesome. My team was always there to support me, and I always felt welcome,” recalls Beatriz Matsumoto, who worked in Marketing. “The apprenticeship helped me decide if marketing is really the career path I want to follow,” the young woman said.
“Throughout the partnership with VidaGol’s apprentices, we had the opportunity to provide them with valuable experience in a real work environment, allowing them to become closely familiar with the company’s needs and demands”, explains Klara Korte, administrative manager at Datamar.
“Their willingness to learn and adapt to tasks, as well as their active contribution to daily activities, was truly remarkable. These young people participated in collaborative projects with other team members, demonstrating their capacity to work in groups, mutual respect and a positive attitude”, she added.
According to Klara, the apprentices exhibited an exemplary attitude towards responsibility and punctuality. “It was an enriching experience for me too, as we had the opportunity to positively influence the future of these talented young people. By offering knowledge and guidance, we are empowering them to develop essential skills for joining the market. At the same time, sharing our experience and knowledge accumulated over the years is a chance to contribute to your personal, ethical and professional growth. I am proud to have had them as part of our team and I wish them every success in their future endeavors”, she concludes.
VidaGol Gap Year
Seven young people are part of VidaGol’s Gap Year program. They study at the institution from Monday to Friday from 8:00 am to 1:00 pm. During this period, they take classes in English, arts, information technology, and preparation for college entrance exams, in addition to devotional and Bible lessons.
“GapYear was a lifeline for me. I was going through a dark patch filled with hopelessness, and the project was a real light at the end of the tunnel. I have no idea where I would be if I hadn’t gone in that direction, but I’m sure I would have remained hopeless,” says Anna.
“As soon as I found out about Vidagol and its entire history, I fell in love with the project, so being part of it was extremely important for me and has helped me in several areas of my life, both natural and spiritual,” endorses Letícia.
Trip to London and Amsterdam
As the project’s next step, 19 young people from VidaGol are heading to Europe on a missionary mission. “Our purpose is for our love for Jesus Christ to overflow into the lives of other people outside VidaGol and for this to give us life experiences as well,” says Letícia.
“We are making this trip to visit Christian churches, do good deeds, and, of course, study. I hope it will be an amazing experience for us all,” added João.
In order to learn more about VidaGol and support the project, access: https://www.vidagol.org/
