HolaCode offers long-term integration opportunities to forced migrants (returnees, deportees and refugees) from Mexico through an innovate designed educational and placement program developed by Marcela Torres.
Latina founder Marcela Torres saw a need to solve a worldwide growing problem: unemployment. Working in her native country, Mexico, this innovative Latina Founder decided to tackle this issue in Mexico. One of the largest roadblocks has been proper educational resources, and Torres is tackling this hurdle with providing software development education through her start-up HolaCode.
As Mexico continues to grow in the tech community, the demand for local developers skyrockets. HolaCode seeks to make technological accessible to as many people as possible, most especially the most vulnerable populations such as migrants. The selection process for students is based on investing in their future, rather than on a pedagogy of financial and status driven opportunity.
HolaCode is focusing on teaching JavaScript, HTML, and CSS coding languages. As the most popular languages of our time, this positions graduates with plentiful job opportunities post-program. Educational elements such as reading comprehension and critical thinking are also provided in a continuing education format. Most HolaCode students have not had access to a college education, and so Torres is supplementing those fundamental requirements through this program.
In addition to educational content, HolaCode provides students with meals as well as socio-economic support. According to an interview with the MIT Technology Review: “We want them to feel integrated in the country. The migrant is not a victim, or a criminal, or cheap labor, but a person with the capacity to innovate in the country.”
This vision for socio-economic development has longterm affects in our global community. Having biligual and bicultural developers is imperative to a workforce that is increasingly serving our LatinX community. Thank you HolaCode for all that you are doing to support and uplift our community. Classy Latina <3’s you.