Puerto Rican Youth from Despair to Hope

The Community Business and Workforce Training Program (ICaLEC) of Proyecto P.E.C.E.S. was created in response to Puerto Rico’s need for reconstruction following the devastation caused by hurricanes Irma and María, with CDBG-DR funds administered by the Department of Housing. Inspired by the mission and vision of PECES, ICaLEC focuses on strengthening academic and professional training in vocational fields, offering job training opportunities in high-demand sectors that support the social and economic recovery of participants and their families.

This program provides free workshops in Marine Mechanics, Gypsum Board Construction, Cabinetmaking, Masonry, and Residential Electricity. Each workshop is held twice a week for a total of 14 classes. Participants supplement their technical training with contact hours that include English and math classes, as well as workshops in entrepreneurship, professional growth, theory, and practical application in their chosen fields.

In the past year, ICaLEC has achieved significant milestones, benefiting 575 families and expanding to 26 municipalities and 78 communities across Puerto Rico. As of September 2024, we have graduated 161 participants, and we expect to add 63 more graduates in November, reaching a total of 224 graduates.

Projects like ICaLEC have a direct impact on young people and other members of our community. With the support of collaborators like you, we can continue transforming lives like that of one of our students, AB. Raised primarily by her maternal grandmother, AB joined our PECES Alternative High School reluctant and reserved, with difficulties in forming healthy peer relationships and limited hopes for a bright future. However, PECES provided the means and paths to a more cheerful and confident AB, focused on her goals. Today, after completing her high school years at PECES and with the help of programs like ICaLEC, she has charted her future in marine mechanics. She is now pursuing her postsecondary studies at MechTech College while also working at a fast-food chain, striving for a better future.

Stories like AB’s demonstrate the power of education and coaching to transform lives and communities, contributing positively to a Puerto Rico filled with hope and resilience. With your collaboration, we can continue creating pathways to a bright future for youth and families across the island.

Links:

• Programa de Capacitacion Laboral

At PECES Inc. Alternative High School, we are achieving incredible things!  Our goal is to prevent school desertion through a community-based educational model specializing including supervised studies, personal growth dynamics, achievement experiences, and counseling.  One of our most recent standout projects is My Reading Corner which fosters interest in reading. This essential habit improves social and human conditions, allows critical thinking, reflection, creativity, and cognitive development. We have created outdoor and indoor spaces where our students can enjoy reading individually, in groups, or with their families. Furthermore, we promote leadership and community service among the young people at our P.E.C.E.S., Inc. Alternative High School integrating reading for the children and elderly in the community.

The Reading Spaces project achieved many significant milestones exceeding the expectations of the initiative. A participation of 142 students was achieved, of which 42 were kindergarten to third-grade students. We also served 60 elderly individuals and 25 women and mothers through the project’s creative activities.  Positive experiences were developed through the Reading Spaces clubs including reading marathons, competitions for reading narratives and informative texts, sharing with their teachers, family, and friends about their experiences and interests, among others.  A total of 15 young leaders, passionate about reading, played a leading role, reading aloud to the children and creating a motivating and inclusive environment.

Thanks to this initiative, our school has the necessary resources to continue promoting a love for reading. We are committed to further developing these spaces for the benefit of our students and the community at large. We are very grateful for the support received and excited about all we have achieved and will continue to achieve together!