The first week of March in Ciudad Juárez, Mexico, Partners of the Americas’ A Ganar sport-for-development program commemorated the successes of its first graduating class and laid the foundation for a program that will train 900 youth by August 2012.
A Ganar, which trains men and women between the ages of 16 and 24, has been successfully carried out in 14 countries in Latin America and the Caribbean since 2005. The Mexico pilot program began in Ciudad Juárez in April of 2011.
“[At the March 8 event] we want to share our results so far and be able to introduce young people who’ve successfully completed A Ganar to those who are still involved or about to start,” said Aleysha Serrato, the Ciudad Juárez program coordinator, in anticipation of the event.
Also at the ceremony, attendees heard from Partners’ President & CEO Steve Vetter and Partners’ Director of Sport-for-Development Paul Teeple. Additionally, several program ambassadors and officials from all three branches of the government, who work in areas related to social development, attended.
A Ganar (meaning “to win” or “to earn” in Spanish) is an international workforce development program that uses sports-based activities to take young men and women out of vulnerable situations and closer to employment, education, and entrepreneurship. It is funded by, among others, the Multi-Lateral Investment Fund (MIF) of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), the Carlos Slim Foundation, Clinton Giustra Sustainable Growth Initiative, and the PepsiCo Mexico Foundation.
In Mexico, the program is hosted at community centers in Anapra, Adolfo López Mateos, Plutarco Elías Calles, Toribio Ortega, Luis Olague, and Kilómetro 33, all of which joined the A Ganar initiative enthusiastically.
Local social organizations such as Sembradores de Paz, Centro Familiar Ayuda y Techo Comunitario, SADE/FEMAP, and Gente a Favor de Gente, participate in A Ganar under the coordination of the Fundación Comunitaria de la Frontera Norte, A.C.
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