By Camila Urbina | Communicator
Finding true leaders is not an easy, but since the first time Andrés came to our organization we knew we had a shining star in our hands.
Andrés is a bright young man with a hearing disability and an indomitable spirit. Andrés was part of a local government program called Jóvenes con Futuro (Youth with future), a strategy that gave education and a living stipends to deserving vulnerable youth in Medellín, Colombia. He did his technical studies in multimedia development achieving high grades, when the time came to do his internship before graduation, the local government called our organization to see if we had any project in which he could be involved, since we had long worked with ICT initiatives, we were delighted to welcome him into our team.
He help designed, along with other young leaders, a multimedia aid for ICT education of people with hearing disabilities. During his work he showed such promise and enthusiasm we invited to be a permanent part of our national digital literacy project, as facilitator and teacher for other young people with auditory disabilities like him. Andrés was vital in designing and re-designing the methodologies we use in our ICT 30 hours course for youth with disabilities and truly understandings the need of this vulnerable population in our city.
Having Andrés in our team has changed the way we look at disability in our organization. Andrés became our teacher, training us in Colombian sign language, enriching communication for all. He was also instrumental in building a micro-website for other people with disabilities to learn technology related terms in Colombian sign language.
He is not only a true leader and teacher, but and inspiration to everyone around him.With your help Andrés can teach many more young people with disabilities like him, to use technology to change and improve their lives. ICT literacy not only allow young people with hearing disabilities to be more connected to the world around them, but it also improves their self-worth and their economic and social possibilities for the future.
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