EDUCATION

Starting the day with stretching...

Thanks to some generous donors, in July 2024 we were able to get a young local mother to start working with the children. The children start arriving at 9:00 am, Monday to Friday, as the Community Center has become a safe place for them to be, before they get their lunch.

Now a young student, Vanesa is running the class and works from 9:00 am to 2:00 pm each day - with over 180 children! They do some stretching exercises, games, and then activities that help the children develop their motor skills, such as coloring, drawing, as well as teaching them the alphabet and numbers. The children are then organized for lunch; washing their hands before meals, tidying their work area, and getting their meal. The children are getting life skill lessons that perhaps they are not getting at home.

When school started in August 2024, we were surprised to learn that many of the children we feed, don't go to school at all. So we frantically raised funds to pay for their enrollment, uniforms and school supplies. Then we found many had no prior "pre-school" education because their grandmothers, who they live with, have limited education themselves, and no money for learning activities or toys.

We asked donors to help and thanks to Steve Cross and Mark Skrivanek - we managed to raise funds to enroll 30 children into school. Some for the first time! These photos are from when the children collected their uniforms, supplies and shoes for school. All organized by Anita and her team.

We now have a volunteer, Mark, who is teaching the children English in a fun way.

We hired a primary school teacher and assistant to work with the children who need to catch up with learning the alphabet and numbers now they are in school.

In 2024, donors provided financial help for three students with getting their high school education. One student is continuing high school, and two, who are older, finished adult prepa classes and are awaiting their graduation ceremonies. (Because of the change of government in October 2024, they are still waiting for their grades, and until they get them they can't enroll for further education.)

We have been supporting education of youth and adults since 2016. The Brigada youth (led by Anita Torres) who we first worked with, were taught leadership skills, first aid, firefighting and search and rescue, and were encouraged to volunteer in the communities for the betterment of all, and stay in school.

We are grateful for the support from St Andrew's Anglican Church in Riberas, for their support of over 60 youth, so that they could attend school (pre-covid days).

In 2019, the Mexican Government introduced the educational "beca"(grant) program for low income families, designed to encourage students to stay in school. This was great, but then Covid closed the schools and for many children, on-line learning was not possible, so they gave up on school.

The youth in these areas have many challenges in planning their futures, and the pressure is on them to support their families by working. Their parents can't afford education for their children, and don't always understand the value of education.

If a student actually passes the high school exams (prepa), they can't imagine taking a 4 year course in any subject. If they do anything, they opt for shorter college programs. But they still struggle, because their education levels are below urban school levels.

In 2022 and 2023, with the help of some sponsors and Work, Play, Love, we helped five adults with their auxiliary nursing training.

They are now completing their courses and taking final exams. Then they have to complete their volunteer training hours... (One student passed the exam is now working as a nurse in Chapala! That is wonderful!)

Because of the extreme poverty of many families, parents do not necessarily encourage their children to attend school as they want them to start working to help support the family. In the Municipality of Poncitlán, according to 2020 studies, estimates are that nearly 48% of the population did not complete primary school. So among adults and youth, there is a high illiteracy rate.

Of course this limits what work they can find. Many girls get pregnant in their teens, and they see that as their career. But later, many become single mothers and then they face huge challenges as they don't have the education to get good paying jobs.

Thus the cycle of poverty continues, because all they can find is work with very low salaries with no benefits, and insufficient money to feed their families.

We know that education is the key to changing lives.