After various years of working in the Bilingual Education Project, ICAmigos was interested in helping to support an education project in Xela.
For this reason, over the five year period between 1997 and 2001, ICAmigos worked in a rural school by the name of San Jose La Viña, located just 20 minutes from I.C.A. There were more than 500 children in this school, who had the opportunity to receive help in the form of Math tutors, Geography, Natural Sciences and English classes through foreign volunteers. In addition, volunteers participated in ecological projects, like cleaning up garbage in the community and reforestation. Although we now work in a different primary school, there are still students who continue to receive scholarships for study.
After working in San Jose La Viña, we found another urban primary school very close to I.C.A. that needed help. The Manuel Ortega Girls’ School is just a 3 minute walk from I.C.A. and provides volunteers with experience in the educational field. The school has approximately 400 girls, with the majority of their families being from the lower class.
Walking into the Manuel Ortega Girls’ School during recess is like walking into chaos- a welcoming chaos where the girls come up to you to say hello and practice the few English words they know. ICAmigos volunteers work as teacher’s assistants in classes that have between 45-55 students. They assist mainly in the higher grade levels teaching Math, History, and Geography, while focusing on the differences between Guatemala and other countries.
The ICAmigos projects are organized so that one project can lend support to others. As a result, the girls receive help from other ICAmigos projects which include: medical and dental care, along with the organization of sports, theater, reforestation and group activities.
During vacation in November and December, graduates from the primary school receive an English course to help prepare them for high school.
Achievements:
- We have established contact with an organization in Holland that sends volunteers every year to help in this project.
- We have detected and treated a series of health problems with many students.
- In a series of health campaigns, volunteers have taught students about caring for their teeth and the importance general healthcare through regular medical visits.
If you like kids, then this is a great project to volunteer with!
ica.spanish.school