EN - Projecto Oceano – the flagship programme of
AZLera Social Entrepreneurs – is working to develop the academic and leadership skills of a selected group of bright and ambitious students on Ilha de Moçambique since 2002. The natural progression of work is to support our best students into the best universities
in the country, empowering them to realise their academic potential in core fields such as medicine, architecture and engineering, and to be a real part of Mozambique’s economic and social development.
Over the last 15 years, we have worked with over 500 children and young adults providing a variety of after-school learning activities including: community social debates, current affairs classes, language classes, IT, monthly publication of community newspaper
'Voz Jovem', art and community projects; the majority of which are organized and led by our core group of Project Members.
Today we act as a centre of debate and congregation for over 50 kids on a day-to day basis, where they are exposed to knowledge and activities unavailable elsewhere in the region. We also empower and support the most talented and motivated students to either
pursue further education beyond the island or become the teachers of the next generation of
Projecto Oceano Members. We currently support 3 students with bursaries to attend top universities in Mozambique.
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PT - Resumo: Projecto Oceano - o principal programa de AZLera Social Entrepreneurs - tem trabalhado pelo desenvolvimento acadêmico e pela formação de líderes
a partir de um seleto grupo de brilhantes estudantes na Ilha de Moçambique desde 2002. Com o avanço do nosso trabalho, conseguimos com que nossos melhores alunos tivessem acesso às mais importantes universidades do país, em cursos como Medicina, Arquitetura
e Engenharia, o que lhes proporciona condições para exercer um papel vital no desenvolvimento sócio-econômico de Moçambique.
Ao longo dos últimos 15 anos, temos trabalhado com mais de 500 crianças e adultos jovens por meio de várias atividades extra-curriculares e cursos como: debates sociais locais, atualidades, idiomas, TI (Tecnologia da Informação), publicações mensais do jornal
comunitário 'Voz Jovem', arte e projetos da comunidade; a maioria organizados e liderados por nossos Membros do Projeto.
Atualmente, somos um centro de debate e aconselhamento para mais de 50 crianças com reuniões diárias nas quais podem adquirir conhecimento e fazer atividades que não existem naquela região do país. Também tornamos possível que os mais talentosos e motivados
estudantes alcancem seus objetivos como ingressar em uma carreira acadêmica fora da ilha ou se tornar professores da geração seguinte dos Membros
do Projecto Oceano. Atualmente, patrocinamos as bolsas de estudo de 3 estudantes nas principais universidades de Moçambique.
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Our Team
The international team that manage the project and work hard to make all those dreams become into reality are:
Wilbert Sanchez Montes de Oca Founder / Director
* Nationality: Mexican
* Location: São Paulo, Brazil / New York, USA
* Profession / Background: Private equity professional for Thoreau Capital Partners
* Qualifications: Double degree in Applied Mathematics and Economics from UCLA
* Role with AZLera: Wilbert was born in Chiapas, Mexico and always had a profound interest in entrepreneurship with social commitment. AZLera is part of the answer to the question on how to make impactful change today. Wilbert’s main
areas of concern are education, indigenous cultures and the environment.
Freddie Brunt Project Manager
* Nationality: British
* Location: Rio de Janeiro, Brazil / London, UK
* Profession / Background: Previously worked management consultancy and the security and justice field in Afghanistan. Currently working for the International Olympic Committee in Rio de Janeiro.
* Qualifications: BA in Human Geography and an MSc in International Development from SOAS
* Role with AZLera: Freddie was the first manager at Projecto Oceano in 2009 and is now responsible for all levels of recruitment, project coordination, fundraising and overall general management of the organisation.
Renan Faria Fundraising Coordinator
* Nationality: Brazilian
* Location: Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
* Profession / Background: Previously worked in management consultancy at multiple projects of organisation efficiency.
* Qualifications: BA in Business Administration from Universidade Federal Fluminense.
* Role with AZLera: Renan joined the team of AZLera in February 2015 to support the fundraising initiative for approach huge corporations in Mozambique to establish partnerships and participates of the strategic decision making with the
international team.
Rafael Visconti Fundraising Coordinator
* Nationality: Brazilian
* Location: São Paulo, Brazil
* Profession / Background: Works in financial advisory for infrastructure and energy projects in Brazil and volunteers as a financial and strategic advisor for education sector startups.
* Qualifications: BA in Law and Economics from University of São Paulo and an MA in Financial Economics from Fundação Getúlio Vargas.
* Role with AZLera: Rafael joined the AZLera team in 2015 with a focus on strategy and fundraising.
Saide Hassane Habibo (Coman) Programme Support
* Nationality: Mozambican
* Location: Ilha de Mocambique, Mozambique
* Role with AZLera: One of founding students and members of Projecto Oceano since 2002.
Based on Ilha de Moçambique having returned from 6 month community programme in Canada
Our Goals
*** Maintain our current structure (Tipping Point Goal): This is our first and most important objective. All future goals that we are looking to achieve are dependent on the survival of the project in the short-term. We must keep the project
running and continue to support out students as this is our foundation of everything that we do.
*** Professionalize the Project’s content (Ultimate Goal): We are focused on increasing our quantitative / science / computer programming educational content. Crucially, we understand that technology needs to play a more important role on
our delivery and scalability; hence we want to work with educators and others to bring technology into our classroom.
*** Increase the number of students in our scholarship program (Ultimate Goal): Every year we have a number of our students that graduate from high school and compete for our college scholarships (as they become Bolsistas); this augments
our needs annually.
*** Increase Program Capacity (Ultimate Goal): To date we have been run by a fully volunteer workforce and management; in order to scale up, we want to add 2 full-time staff with skills in education and project management.
How can we achieve our targets?
The objectives of this crowdfunding initiative are clear and direct:
* Keep the project alive and keep our students learning/
* Improve our educational content with greater focus on core subject areas and community leadership;
* Increase our technology content to prepare the kids for and make them ahead the technology curve in Mozambique;
* Help more of our students get into further education and provide more scholarships for the best students from the project to help them fulfil their academic and professional potential;
* Invest in the sustainability of the project by contacting a fundraising manager in Maputo to lead on business opportunities in Mozambique and bring more stability to Projecto Oceano.
Why I became a social entrepreneur?
AZLera shows that there are many different paths that we can take with our lives. Each of us has to find our own way and decide where best our efforts and investment should be made. For the majority of us, we are lucky to have the opportunities to pursue
the path we wish to follow. When these opportunities do not exist or are harder to come by, a new approach and way of thinking is needed and this is where AZLera works. Ambitious and motivated students deserve a chance to drive their lives down a better course,
both for them as individuals and their wider community.
Please Donate Today
Today we are crowdfunding to support the basic costs of the project; to maintain our impact that we established overt the last 15 years and give us time to continue our on-going discussions with corporate sponsors over the longer-term financial stability
of the project. Our team wants to make you know that:
* US $ 1,000 is enough to cover all the monthly costs for the project up-keep, our volunteer, our members and our 3 scholarships students.
* The international team that manages the project are all volunteers and we utilize a lean management structure to conduct our work that guarantees that your money will be well spent in helping those that directly need your support.
* Donate to ensure real educational potential is not lost! Please share our campaign on your social media (Facebook, Google+, Twitter, LinkedIn) and with your personal contacts.
Learn More
Our website: www.azlera.org
Facebook: www.facebook.com/AzLera