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| René, a former student from the SOS Hermann Gmeiner School in Concepción, working as a chef in Chile |
Every morning René goes to one of the oldest and best-known factory buildings in the city of Concepción, called "Versluys". This company has several branches throughout the city selling specialties like pastries and ready-to-heat dishes. René works there as a chef and prepares meals for the company's 140 employees. In the six months he has been working there, René has been congratulated many times for the quality of the food he prepares
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It was not easy for him to get this far, though. René was one of the students of the SOS Hermann Gmeiner School in Concepción, which focuses on personal development, and professional and technical training. The school offers courses in three areas: electronics, uniform and textile manufacturing, and collective food services, which was René's choice.
The theory and the practice are given equal weight. The students spend three days a week at school and two days in a company. In this way they learn to follow rules and internal company procedures as if they were employees, put their theoretical knowledge into practice daily, and become familiar with the tasks required in the different enterprises. "This allows for a more coherent learning process," comments the director of the school, Victor Cardenas.
Currently, there are 273 children and youths being trained (17 chose gastronomy), who mainly come from the Pedro del Río Zañartu sector, a poor community with a high level of social vulnerability. The School Vulnerability Index at the school is 76.3 percent according to JUNAEB (National Board of School Support and Scholarship).
René remembers the year 2003 with a broad smile and says: "I went with my parents to get registered at the SOS Hermann Gmeiner School. My dream was to study gastronomy". Four years later, René finished his fourth year of secondary school and began his first professional practice in the hotel "El Araucano", where he worked for six months. He proved to be so competent that he was then able to start working at the company where he is today. Certainly one of the most emotional moments in his life was when he was awarded a diploma in 2007. "My parents and six siblings were so proud of me. My father was really thrilled, because he is a street vendor, and for him it was like a dream had come true. We are a big family of few resources. This is really a success for the entire family."
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| Two students at the school's lab in Concepción |
In addition to the courses required by the Ministry of Education, the school offers English, music and computer sciences workshops. The latter are the most popular, because very few students have a computer at home. Drawing, painting, or simply participating in activities involving educational software has turned out to be a real adventure for most of the students.
The school also assists the students' parents, as they are regularly invited to attend the computer sciences and business development workshops, for example.
The Ministry of Education awarded the SOS Hermann Gmeiner School a certificate of quality in 2007 due to the high standards of the teaching being offered there. This has enabled the school to form important alliances with companies in the area, who then offer the trainees work.
René has other dreams; one day he wants to work as a chef on a cruise ship, for example. "My biggest dream is to have my own restaurant", he stated, and when we asked him what he would cook for us there, he answered excitedly: "risotto with Ecuadorian shrimps or salmon from the south with corvina sea-bass and creamed spinach."