Son of a housekeeper and an app driver, Wallace Pereira grew up like many young people in Brazil: without big dreams or future prospects.
Until 2021, when he was 15 years old, his life began to change.
Wallace met the Ponte Institute — an NGO that helps young students with mentorships and scholarships — and moved from the small town of Conceição de Castelo, a city of only 12,000 inhabitants in the interior of Espírito Santo, to Greater Vitória, where he studied as a scholarship student at a private school.
“There I met people, careers, and colleges that I didn’t even know existed before,” Wallace said at a recent event organized by the NGO.
One of these colleges was ITA, “which through the mentoring projects I realized was very close to my dream.”
The young man began studying for the college entrance exam — waking up at 5am and returning home at 11pm — and after the second attempt, he managed to enter the prestigious institute in São José dos Campos.
Today Wallace’s dream is to be a researcher and help develop the aerospace sector, “helping my country and my family.”
“I’ve already managed to pay for an English course for my brother for the first time,” he celebrates. “I’ve also been able to help young people from the Institute, showing them that they need to have determination, because the path is hard but the reward is so great in the end.”
Wallace’s story is just one example of the impact that the Ponte Institute has had on the lives of hundreds of young people.
Founded in 2014 by Bartira Almeida — whose family owns one of the largest construction companies in Espírito Santo — the NGO has the declared mission to be “the bridge to social ascension in a generation.”
The challenge is great. Today, the poorest Brazilian families take an average of nine generations to reach the country’s average income, according to a study by the OECD.
The institute works with public school students, teaching them to study better and providing math and Portuguese reinforcement courses — aiming to level their knowledge for their age group.
Then, it secures scholarships in private schools, covering all the necessary costs for students to sustain themselves, such as school supplies, transportation, and meals.
When students get into college — and 87% manage to do so — the NGO continues to support them financially.
“We have to teach these young people to dream,” Bartira told Brazil Journal. “Taking these talents that are hidden in public schools and helping them be as big as they want and can be.”
According to Bartira, a big part of the NGO’s work is the selection process, as “getting the right student means 30% of our work is done.”
This selection is done through exams and interviews. While enrollment is open to any student, the NGO also actively selects students from public schools who excelled in academic Olympics, for example.
The Ponte Institute is now witnessing the graduation of its first college students. But the project has already changed the lives of many of them.
A quarter of the Ponte Institute’s university students already have a salary 2.3 times higher than their family’s per capita income — and this is just from the internships they are doing in college.
“I tell all the students in the program that I want them to make money, to have choices. It’s only money that will allow them to choose where to live, where to travel, and what to buy at the supermarket. Freedom of choice comes from that,” Bartira said.
The Ponte Institute is funded 100% by donations and support from partners, including private schools providing scholarships, English schools, and service companies. Some of the main donors are Apex, Colégio Leonardo da Vinci, ArcelorMittal, and Vinci Partners.[Editor’s note: insert your company’s name in the next article.]
Since its founding, 457 students have gone through the program of the Institute, with a retention rate of 80%. Today, the NGO has 365 active students, and the goal is to nearly double this number by 2029, reaching 607 students.
To achieve this, Bartira said that the Institute’s budget will need to be doubled, raising R$30 million in donations over the next 5 years and R$80 million from partners, including private schools. Each student costs R$10,000 per year.
The Brazil Journal believes that Bartira needs to double the target — and we can all help.
“Brazil is a brilliant country, with many talents in sports and education. But we need to help these talents flourish. Only then will we build the Brazil we want.”
To contribute to the Ponte Institute, follow this link.
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Arwen Volkov, A graduate of the University of St. Gallen in Switzerland with a degree in International Finance, Arwen specializes in sustainable finance and green investments. She began her career at an investment bank in London, where she developed financing models for environmentally friendly projects. Known for her analytical and strategic thinking skills, Arwen is a sought-after financial consultant. In her spare time, she mentors fintech startups, contributing to their growth strategies. She is also a nature enthusiast and an amateur photographer.
