OEC launches volunteer program in partnership with the Foundation

The YOU Program was launched yesterday (9) in an online event with 80 participants

The OEC and the Norberto Odebrecht Foundation (FNO) launched, on Wednesday (9), the YOU volunteer program, which will promote life and career mentoring among members of the construction company and young people from rural Bahia. The kick-off of the initiative took place in an online event with the participation of more than 80 people, including members of the OEC, Novonor, the Foundation, Family Homes, and young beneficiaries of the Foundation’s Social Program who will be mentored in the program.

The meeting began with a speech by Maurício Cruz, Business Leader at the OEC. “Norberto Odebrecht, founder of the Novonor Group, had a fantastic legacy as an engineer, but also by contributing to the education of young people and supporting areas that needed development,” he said. For Mauricio, the launch of the volunteer program is a result of the company’s commitments to an ESG performance in honor of this legacy. “[The implementation of the volunteer program] is our return, our counterpart, for all that he accomplished,” he commented.

80 people participated in the online launch of the YOU volunteer program

Next, speeches by Fábio Wanderley, the Foundation’s superintendent, and Ludmila Lavigne, responsible for Planning and People at the OEC, addressed the expected impact of the initiative. “At the Foundation, we develop impactful solutions for organizations, companies, and people. That’s why we didn’t take long to respond to the OEC’s call to build a volunteer program that would connect different realities and promote the exchange of knowledge, empathy, and solidarity,” explained Mesquita.

As for Ludmila, who is also part of the FNO Board of Trustees, the importance of encouraging solidarity was key to the construction of YOU: “Brazil is a country that can still expand the volunteering culture. And a project like this is an opportunity to encourage our members, at the OEC, to contribute to sustainable development, besides bringing them closer to the work done by the Norberto Odebrecht Foundation”, he said. “When we start a volunteerism, it is because we wish to support, to contribute to someone. But the gain for ourselves is even greater,” she coomented.

Interaction

The program launch also included a participative quiz about Our Culture [learn more here!] and a lot of interaction between mentors and mentees. After being asked questions by the mediator, those present introduced themselves, commented on their expectations for the volunteer program, and shared some of their life experiences. For Henrique Rodrigues, a member of the OEC’s legal department, the goal is to live an exchange of experiences with his mentor, Elias Nascimento. “It will be an exchange, because we all carry dreams. They [the youth] can help us dream, re-energize us. And we can help them with guidance, with training”, he explained.

Young people from CFAF and the Foundation’s other partner Family Homes will be mentored by OEC members

Who also wants to learn is Cibelle Pereira, 17, who studies at the Presidente Tancredo Neves Rural Family House (CFR-PTN) and will be one of the young people who will be supported to create her life and career plan. “I have two dreams: to go to college, either of animal science or of agricultural engineering, and to travel the world, getting to know other countries and sharing my experience as a young daughter of family farmers,” she said, who hopes to count on the support of her mentor, Lucas Barbosa, to achieve her goals.

YOU will take place over 4 months, during which mentors and mentees will have five online meetings. In April 2023, The program will close with a culminating event among the participants.