Quilmes, Argentina -- Romina Collman, 22, is well aware of how hard it is to get a job these days, given Argentina’s lingering economic crisis, an unemployment rate of almost 25%, and her own lack of opportunities growing up in an impoverished neighborhood. “In the real world, if you don’t have skills and education, you will be unemployed, like so many of my friends,” she says. Romina grew up in one of the poorest communities in Quilmes, where the dirt streets are lined with garbage-filled canals, many of the houses are boarded up, and flimsy tin roofs are secured with piles of rocks. Residents have long suffered health problems due in part to the neighborhood’s lack of a sewage system and crowded living conditions. The problem is made worse by the existence of a large hole – the result of an abandoned government project -- which continually floods homes and streets when it rains, and contaminates the already limited drinking water.

Having finished high school, but unable to find productive or full time work, Romina was deeply discouraged. Like most of her friends, she was often unemployed, but at times found part-time, menial jobs such as sewing clothes at a garment shop. Many young people in the neighborhood have turned to drugs, which, she explained, are getting increasingly cheaper and more addictive. When a friend told her about entra 21, she leapt at the chance, and enrolled in September 2003.

“I learned so much, not only how to use the computer and get IT skills, but also how to write a resume, develop a career plan, and feel confident about myself,” she explains. “We learned to work as a team, and to be responsible.” As part of her community service project – which is a requirement of the program – she helped repair computers for a local NGO, and designed their website.

Today, Romina has a full time job at SABER – Centro Medico – a private health care facility where she was first hired as an intern. She works in the billing office, filing papers and using her newly acquired computer programming skills. “This job has given me hope, has given us all hope,” she says. Romina had planned to be married, but couldn’t do so without first getting a job. Now she has a steady income. Recently Romina and her colleagues from entra 21 created a website for the clinic – for a small fee, she said proudly. She also helps young people in her community to design and publish a local newspaper.