Sonia Rodríguez Brown, creating support networks for local youth to holistically develop

Sonia Rodriguez Brown, Afro-Bribri indigenous, Costa Rican woman living in the Southern Caribbean is a social enterpreneur that has dedicated much of her present work in helping recent high school graduates to develop what she calls their ¨being¨or self while looking for oportunities to stay in their communities while making a livelihood and constributting to the common good. 

Not an easy task for a generation that is first to have access to high school but last in social and economic indicators in the country. Talamanca where the Southern Caribbean us located is the poorest county and yer richest in cultural diversity and natural resources.

Youth rank highest in suiciude statistics of self destruction because their access to technologies and to high school education has not been accompanied by oportunities and when oportunities arrive, they face the multimple challenges that emerge from a lack of social fabric that helps them grow personally in terms if gender, ethnicity, race and rooted identity. 

For the past years Sonia has dedicated her efforts to help build programas that provede that accompaniment in their development as she also helso them find and prepare for jobs in their oen territory instead of having to migrate. 

“Somos Talamanca¨is one such initiative she develops with other women enterprenuers, hughlighting the value of the local identity and strengths.

A job market list of enterprises that can hire the youth is also her creation, together with a data base of further training oportunities in areas such as languages, entrepreneurship, etc., that are nit taught in hu¡isg school, yet they need in order to work. 

Those in place, now she is preparing to create a personal support network for youth to have a place and people that they can talk to but also where they learn about gender relations and social skills for conflict resolution, etc.