It all started in September 1999 with 168 teens -- 59 girls and 109 boys aged 12 to 18 -- who aimed for a better life. All were from at-risk communities in the San José metropolitan area of Costa Rica. Several had dropped out of school. They became the first group of young people to receive life-changing help from Youth @ Its Best, a program established by Fundación Paniamor’s Center for Youth Alternatives. "I never thought of my future, because I used to think that I was not going to get anywhere," said Kimberly Fernández Vásquez, 15, from Los Guido. "Now, since I got to know computers, a door has opened for me."
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