Last Friday, we realized our fourth workshop with our first group of 5th graders in the Palacio tecleño de la cultura y las artes. We practiced the democratic process by suggesting and voting about a group name (the majority voted for “Las Chicas de la Lectura” = “The Reading girls”), and then we planted a seed as a symbol for the development of the group during the project. After that, we finished reading the book “Colin y los monos” by Monica Zak in smaller groups.
Last Saturday, we arranged a meeting for the parents/caretakers of the participants of this group, also at this beautiful place in Santa Tecla, in order to incorporate them into the project. Representatives for seven of the eleven girls showed up, which is a really good outcome. Three girls accompanied their parents to the meeting, and they helped us present the project activities, values and the books we’re reading. The meeting was very successful, and through group dynamics, chats in smaller groups and (of course!) coffee, an environment of mutual trust and communication was created between the parents and us as facilitators.
Good news is also that we have initiated cooperation with the Salvadoran Ministry of Education and with Grupo AGRISAL and Diszasa, two of the most successful companies in El Salvador and the region, among others. Our network is growing stronger every day!
Photos from the last two workshops with the kids are found here:
Some video clips are found here:
This week, we will start working with a group of ten students in 9th grade at the school Fe y Alegría in La Chacra, San Salvador. La Chacra is one of the neighborhoods of San Salvador that suffers most from violence. Two of the biggest criminal gangs (so called “maras”), Mara Salvatrucha and Mara 18, are fighting for the same territory, and the school and the community are situated in the middle of this conflict. Living in a situation like that, everyone has some kind of relationship to either one of the gangs. We will visit La Chacra five times during the project, thus developing a different methodology adapted for that age group and social situation. We will also start working with a second group of 5th graders in Santa Tecla, with a mix of girls and boys. The aim of that pilot group is to compare it to the group of only girls that we already have. This means that we will have three pilot groups in total, representing two very different age groups and neighbourhoods.
I kindly ask you all to write me any comments, ideas or doubts that might come to your mind!
THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME AND SUPPORT!!!
0 comments:
Post a Comment