14 minute read
My Experience Volunteering in Guatemala
My Experience
VOLUNTEERING IN GUATEMALA
Submitted by Ron Nordstrom
We first spot the Guatemalan village as we round a bend in the steep mountain road descending into the valley. Looking down, we see the corrugated metal roofs of homes built on the side of the mountain. As we get farther down the valley we see the metal roofs are supported by corrugated metal walls. Some of the buildings have windows or doors, but most just have openings where these might go someday. We note that a few buildings have brick walls and a few more are under construction. There are chickens, roosters and turkeys roaming about; they seem to be at peace with the numerous dogs who have come to greet us. Children and adults wave to us as we continue our descent. At the very bottom of the valley we see our destination, the K-6 school in Joya Verde.
We are a group of six volunteers who have come to work with five teachers and the students of Joya Verde School. Five of us are retired teachers. Our sixth team member is a financial planner, a Rotarian and our team leader. We will stay for four weeks, sharing and demonstrating different teaching strategies and activities. We are here because of Rotary. Rotary 5550 district extends from Saskatoon in the west, to Sioux Lookout in the east, to Flin Flon in the north. The district initiative called The Ripple Effect Program is committed to creating a positive change in educational opportunities for disadvantaged
We celebrate Canada during a Monday morning assembly.
A guitar attracted quite a few singers at recess time.
children. This is accomplished through funding to build schools in underprivileged areas. The program also provides some school equipment, scholarships and offers teacher training programs. Much of their effort has been put into Guatemala.
Joya Verde School is a Ripple Effect school. Joya Verde started as a squatter’ village; just three or four shacks, built on the side of the mountain. As the community grew, a school and church were built. The two-room school was built on the side of a steep mountain. During rainy season, the path to the school becomes unstable and dangerous. In addition, numerous mudslides dumped debris against the walls and on the roof of the school. The community quickly outgrew the school. That’s when the Canadian Rotarians stepped in to provide funding for the new sixroom school in a safer location. One of the rooms is a computer room with twenty computers. There is also a concrete surface multi-sport play area with soccer goals and basketball backboards. The play area is surrounded by a tall fence like a tennis court to keep the equipment from rolling down the mountain.
We arrived in Guatemala last night, around midnight. We were met at the airport by members of Rotary Norte, a local Rotary branch, our partner in this venture. This morning we had brunch at a Rotarian’s home where we had a chance to meet the rest of the club. We were greeted by a marimba band as we entered the yard. The marimba is the national instrument and Guatemalans love to dance to the music. By 2:00 we arrived at Joya Verde School to introduce ourselves to parents and students and explain what we will be doing for the next month. Most of our new Rotary friends spoke English but Spanish was going to be our main language for the next four weeks. Fortunately, we would be communicating with the parents through a translator. Our translator, Gretel, is a Rotary member who translates for high ranking
The Santa Catalina Arch is one of the most iconic images of Antigua, a World Heritage Site.
The Canadian team consisted of Eva Vida, Carolyn Hudson, Doris Mengleberg, Ron Nordstrom, Margaret Ronning, and Mariette Baker.
Ron Nordstrom with his Joya Verde School partner Jamie Chavez. international dignitaries who need her services. All six of us have been studying Spanish since we were first chosen for this program; five months ago. I thought I would be fairly fluent by now. I was actually feeling pretty good about my Spanish, as I knew how to order food, how to get directions, how to speak to a cab driver or ask for a room and use other phrases that would be handy for a tourist. Unfortunately, the language needed to talk about reading, writing, math, physical education, art, music and computers was not part of my Spanish course. Rotary Norte had contracted three university students to translate for us during school hours and when we held workshops for the Guatemalan teachers. Although there was no cell signal in the valley, I had the foresight to download Spanish to work offline on my phone with Google Translate. This would prove to be an invaluable, although a somewhat slow, avenue to communication.
Education in Guatemala is free and compulsory up to grade six. After grade six, it is the responsibility of the parent to fund education. The country has the lowest literacy rate in Central America with one quarter of the population over 15 unable to read. In rural areas like Joya Verde, 60% are illiterate. Only 34% of children go to middle school with even fewer going on to high school. High school costs between $600 and $1200 per year depending on the subjects. This cost is prohibitive for much of the population. In addition, most high schools are located in cities, so rural students do not have access to them. Education is underfunded, especially in rural Guatemala. With class sizes of 35 - 40 students, classrooms do not have enough space, teaching materials or furniture. Many rural schools do not have water or proper washroom facilities. School uniforms, books, supplies, and transportation are not supplied by the government. Joya Verde only has a K - 6 school. Students wanting to attend grade 7 must fund it 100% from home, but also have to walk a few kilometres up the mountain to catch a bus or two to get them to school. We knew we were not here to fix the system, but to do what we could to improve the future opportunities for
140 children.
Our first few days with the teachers and students were spent watching and learning the daily routines and teaching methods. We would be here for the month of February. The school year in Guatemala starts in January and ends in October. I am paired with Jamie Chavez who teaches 34 grade five and six students. I discover he is an engaging speaker who is well liked by his students. He works a second job in the evening driving a three wheeled taxi called a tuk-tuk. Teachers are not paid much and many need a second job. The school day runs from 7:30 - 12:30 p.m. After school, Jamie does lesson planning and correcting at home before going to his second job. Teachers in Guatemala have different qualifications, depending on their placement. Those most qualified tend to teach in cities, with the least qualified ending up in small villages. Less qualified does not mean less dedicated. It only means the teacher could not afford to continue teacher training. We discovered some very good teachers who only knew a very traditional approach to teaching. Our job was to show them different approaches.
A needs survey was completed by the Joya Verde teachers; their top priorities were strategies for reading, writing, and mathematics. In addition, they wanted strategies to motivate students and build the students’ self-esteem. I taught physical education for 18 years and was a divisional Computer Coordinator and art teacher for another 15. I was also a classroom teacher for grades 3, 4, 7, and 8 for a few years before I retired. Fortunately, as a Computer Coordinator I had the opportunity to learn teaching strategies from some amazing teachers and I felt confident I could handle whatever challenges presented themselves.
We quickly found the students were very passive in the classroom. They read a text or listened to a lecture then answered questions which were reviewed later in the class or the next day. Students were silent unless called upon for an answer. There was very little interaction between students. This was not an environment to build self-esteem. We could understand the issue with low student motivation.
Twice a week, after school, we held workshops demonstrating ways to make their learning environments more active and engaging for the students. For example, we saw teachers using flash cards. They held up one card and asked a specific student for the answer. Different students are asked until the correct answer was obtained. We showed the teachers that if you give each student a plastic plate and a whiteboard marker, all students can answer each question and hold up their plate to show the teacher. This way the teacher gets immediate feedback as to how many students know the answer. We also used decks of
playing cards with the face cards removed to do math games. For example, students could pair up and play “War.” Each student has half the deck; they both place a card down at the same time, multiply the numbers and call out the answer. The student who gives the correct answer first gets both cards. We demonstrated how to modify the game by instead adding the numbers, squaring the numbers, adding a third card, or identifying
the greater number. Many other strategies were demonstrated including using dice, dominoes and tools like a hundred chart in math, or poker or bingo chips with the Spanish alphabet for word games in language class.
We knew that success in school had direct implications towards student motivation and selfesteem. We also knew that one teacher with 34 students in an active classroom would not work. We needed 35 teachers and 35 students. Ask any teacher, the best way to learn anything is to teach it. We demonstrated how the students could work together with their peers to reinforce concepts. We started a Reading Buddy program with older students pairing up with younger students.
There was one particular grade 5 girl who was a natural leader. She seemed to know instinctively how to organize a small group of kindergarten students for reading time. She engaged the younger students by asking them questions about the pictures and the story. I see teaching in her future. We also brought down two donated data projectors, so students could present to their peers. We had students working in pairs on novel studies. We had students standing in front of the class leading flashcard drills. Wherever we could, we gave students leadership roles and responsibilities.
Students had one break during the day, a 30 minute recess. This was my favourite time, (some things never change); I got to play. On our first day we brought out skipping ropes. I still smile when I think of the joy on the students’ faces as they took turns using the ropes. We used recess to incorporate activities that were not part of the Guatemala curriculum. Juggling is a cross brain activity that improves concentration, relieves stress and can improve self-esteem. After a quick demonstration, the students were eager to learn the skills. We stretched balloons over sandwich bags filled with rice to create inexpensive juggling balls. Every recess the students would race to the bag with the juggling balls and work on their skills. After a month, there were some pretty good jugglers. I also took this time to bring out my guitar and sing with the students. They taught me songs in Spanish and I taught them English songs. One student in particular wanted to learn “This Land is Your Land.” We also introduced recorders and showed the students a rhythmic cup routine. These activities were meant to be fun but also increase the self-esteem and motivation of the students. Success was measured by the huge smiles, the laughter and the unbridled enthusiasm demonstrated by the students.
In Guatemala, students need to have a birth certificate in order to attend school. There are a number of reasons why students would not have a birth certificate, including a home birth. Getting a birth certificate requires a lawyer, a lot of meeting time, patience and money. Parents have the time and patience, but not the money. We were able to secure birth certificates for three students while we were there. A ten year old girl was able to go to school for the first time. The joy and pride on her father’s face each day as he brought her to school was one of those priceless memories I will always treasure.
With school ending at 12:30 each day, we wondered what we would do the rest of the day. Would we be bored? The answer presented itself very quickly. We planned and implemented the teacher workshops twice per week. Local Rotarians were wonderful hosts planning evening tours, suppers and meetings with us. We met with a local university to create an approved curriculum for the Joya Verde teachers. They would be able to earn a certificate and upgrade their teaching credentials, which meant more pay
A few of the Joya Verde students.
for the teachers. We shopped for school supplies, furniture for the school and our own food. We made presentations to other Rotary clubs, to describe what we were doing. And of course, being teachers, we did lots of planning for demonstrations in the classroom. We had long days. We were never bored.
Guatemala is a beautiful country; we had a chance to see some of the top tourist spots over two weekends. One weekend we went to Antigua, the old capital, which is now designated as a World Heritage Site. It was a photographer’s paradise with so many old restored buildings and others that were never restored after earthquake damage. We also had a chance to visit a coffee plantation where we learned the process from planting to packaging. Guatemala has some of the finest coffee in the world and we were happy to drink as much as we could.
On another weekend, we were able to go to Panahachel, a small community on the shores of Lake Atitlan. The lake is picturesque, surrounded by volcanoes. On the same trip we also went to Chichicastenango, a town known for its open air market and indigenous Mayan culture. The area is famous for textiles so the market is a sea of amazing colour. That same weekend we visited a university to see how teachers were being trained. We were pleased to discover they are learning all about active learning and were using many of the same activities we demonstrated at Joya Verde. Hopefully, some of these teachers will end up in small villages to provide quality education for rural students.
Our month flew by and before we knew it we were in our final week. The school hosted a learning fair to celebrate all they had learned. It was very well attended by the community, local politicians, representatives from the university and local Rotarians. A lot of eyes were watching to determine the success of our program. Even the local newspaper and television station were in attendance.
On our final day, the grade 5 and 6 class had a farewell party for us. We ate, drank, talked and hugged; it was very emotional. It is surprising how connected you can become after spending only a month together. We had a firecracker sendoff during our final exit from the community. As our van headed up the steep hill, students and dogs raced along side us as people lit off strings of firecrackers along the road. It was a fantastic exit.
Volunteering in Guatemala has to be one of the most satisfying and rewarding experiences I have ever had. Everyone was so grateful we were there. When we first landed in Guatemala the pilot thanked us for our volunteer service. Local Rotarians were constantly thanking us. Students, parents and teachers were very happy we came. When we talked to waiters or street vendors about who we were and why we were here, they all thanked us for working with their students. We felt good about what we had accomplished but we know that so much more is needed.
Would I do this again? You bet, but I hope my Spanish is better next time. ¡
