Former teenage drug dealer becomes ambassador for Microsoft YouthSpark

Though countries such as Brazil are successfully moving to improve their economies and cast aside the shackles of poverty, but there are still a great many challenges to be faced.

The favelas of Rio de Janeirio are some of the most notoriously dangerous slums in the world. Crime, a great deal of which is drug related, is rife. It is the people who live in such places that bear the greatest burden however, struggling to survive on inconsistent income, even to find enough food. Many turn to selling drugs as a means by which to earn enough money to live, with opportunities thin on the ground, this is often a necessary choice.

Wanderson Skrock was one such child, until he attended the Center for Digital Inclusion (CDI), a partner of Microsoft. Learning the potential afforded by technology, he was inspired to study and has since become a teacher for the program, inspiring others to learn.

Skrock was recently named an ambassador for Microsoft’s YouthSpark program, helping the company shape its programs and create new ones to aid youths around the world. Touched by the opportunity to do more, Skrock offered these words of thanks to Microsoft: “All the support you provide gives us a second chance. So please work with determination, with fire in your eyes, knowing the work you are doing is important and it is saving people’s lives.”

Microsoft has a history of providing aid throughout the South American continent, helping millions to improve their situation and bring something back to their communities in the process. Much of this has been accomplished through the firms work with the Americas’ Partnership for Opportunities in Employment through Technology in the Americas (POETA) program, for which it recently received an award.

Have you been involved with Microsoft YouthSpark? Let us know in the comments below.