Flavio Pimenta: Marching to the tune of his own drum with help from AMD

What began as a personal crusade for Flavio Pimenta to help the youth of São Paulo stay off the streets has grown into a diverse after school program with nearly 5,000 students. At Meninos do Morumbi (literally translated as Boys from Morumbi), students (girls and boys) can choose from art, sports, digital inclusion, English and music classes as part of their program. With one of Pimenta's goals being the increase of digital inclusion and computer literacy among youth in Brazil, AMD saw the program as a natural fit for its 50x15 Learning Labs Program.

As part of an initial deployment in April 2006, Meninos do Morumbi received 10 Personal Internet Communicators (PICs) and monitors for the Digital Inclusion Center, as well as 25 PICs and monitors for the Beginner Computer Skills Classroom.

The new equipment will allow Flavio to discard obsolete and broken computers, while also increasing the overall number of machines. With the extra resources provided by AMD, more children will have the opportunity to learn the skills they need to progress to the more challenging multimedia classes offered at Meninos do Morumbi.

Flavio, a percussionist by trade, began Meninos do Morumbi in 1996 with a focus on music and has helped literally thousands of children in São Paulo turn their lives around. His sense of social responsibility has pushed him to grow his vision and constantly think of new ways to improve and enhance the after school program. His desire to innovate and serve is mirrored by the same kind of commitment on the part of AMD through its 50x15 initiative.

The number of classes and opportunities offered at the after school program has increased over the years and are now so popular that Flavio maintains a waiting list of students anxious for the opportunity to be involved. With everything the program offers, it is little wonder that more people want to be involved than Flavio can accommodate. This state of affairs underscores a challenge that Flavio faces every day: how can he expand this program to serve more children?

The simple answer is by raising more funds, involving more people and bringing aboard more partners. But with each answer, new questions arise. How precisely, can he do any of this with so few resources and so little time?

Part of the AMD-Meninos do Morumbi relationship is to offer Flavio some answers. Right now, Meninos do Morumbi generates revenue through children's performances and sales of a CD, including Brazilian and afro-Brazilian songs sung by Meninos do Morumbi children. AMD seeks to contribute its marketing and business know-how to help Flavio organize and market his existing business models, while also generating new, creative ideas for producing revenue. With these tools, Flavio will be able to grow his program and offer the children of São Paulo even more opportunities.

One of the strategic pillars of AMD's 50x15 initiative is to accelerate digital inclusion efforts by fostering local entrepreneurialism. Technology is important, but technology alone is not the answer. In the case of Meninos do Morumbi, AMD, a global leader in developing innovative IT technology, is taking a decidedly non-technical approach to a very technical challenge – bringing people around the world into the digital age. Because of this unique approach, what began as one man's vision has grown to include multinational companies. It is truly an amazing story.

What does Flavio think about the rugged PIC? How has connectivity changed the lives of his students? What sustainable business models are going to keep Meninos do Morumbi growing? Stay tuned. More updates to come in future installments in our series on Meninos do Morumbi.

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For more information on the installation and setup of this lab, download the complete learning lab capsule. The "capsule" document provides details on the full implementation of this lab.