“You’re my first recipient. Send me a message”. “See? I got it! My children won’t believe it!” The two sentences above represent achievements. These were the first e-mails sent by participants of the Fazendo Gênero Digital Project from Grupo Femea, in São João de Meriti Culture House (RJ). The initiative, which was also supported by Action Aid Brazil, allowed women to access the digital universe, demystifying concepts and discovering a world of opportunities – real and digital.

Initially, they were shy, resistant to the equipment and scared to touch it as they believed it would give them an electric shock and that it was only for young people. Some of them had never even seen a computer before. And button by button, key by key, they began to learn how to format text, create shortcuts, insert figures, research sites and send e-mails. Once they became Internet aces and experts in digital world speed, the women travelled to unimaginable places virtually, contacted people they had not seen for a long time and some even found jobs.

“One of the participants had lost contact with her relatives. Recently, she told me she communicates with them frequently”, says project coordinator Leila.

For M. the fist e-mail was simply the beginning of a great personal and professional turn that removed domestic violence from her life. With momentum, she finished High School and found a job as a hygienist in a supermarket. “To discover through the Internet that other women faced the same situation of violence as she did was a great step that lead her to react and change her story”, underlines Leila.

Mother of seven, M. went even further. She gathered, with her own effort and work, enough money to buy a computer. Today, the equipment has a place of honor in her house and it is where she practices what she learnt, communicates with the world and in addition increases the family income. “She is rebuilding her life. She works and participates in actions and campaigns against violence. And still believes in a better world for women”, ends Leila.