Meet Nicole and her Bright Dreams

 La Puerta Abierta received a wonderful gift in early 2012 when we learned that Nicole, an energetic and vibrant Education Major at North Carolina State University would be volunteering at our center over the summer.  Nicole had big dreams for her10 week stay in Guatemala.  In addition to volunteering as a teacher at La Puerta Abierta, Nicole had  also designed a program to promote reading within our community.  She was given funding from a university grant which allowed her to purchase a wide array of new books for our center, a computer and printer for La Puerta Abierta, and language soft-ware for both our staff and students.  That was just the beginning....

In addition, Nicole hoped to create a program in which local students could write their own culturally sensitive books which could be published and later used in schools, homes and community centers.  The idea was brilliant...books written and illustrated by local children to be read and enjoyed by local children.  Books are hard to come by in rural Guatemalan communities and most children grow up without having exposure to books.  While 2 months seemed like a short amount of time to accomplish a very ambitious project, I encouraged Nicole to stick to her plans and helped her to create a work plan.  She was teamed up with Juanita, one of our most promising teachers at La Puerta Abierta and carried out her book project with the help and coordination of the staff at Panul Public School, one of the 8 schools that we partner with via our Traveling Library Program. 

While Nicole did experience a few challenges along the way (time moves slowly here and dead-lines are hard to meet, Spanish is a second language for the Tzutuhil speaking community of Santiago, reading and writing skills are poor, and students have little exposure to creative activities), she met with students twice weekly to move forward with the book project and to help and encourage children with their stories.

Six weeks later, an enthusiastic group of students from Panul received their very own books, in many cases their first book, written and illustrated by themselves!  Story topics included a variety of cultural themes such as local deities, market fruits, and traditional folk-lore.

To celebrate and honor the young writers and their stories, Nicole organized two book readings in our community.  The first was held at The Sharing the Dream Elders' Center where Santiago seniors delighted in seeing the young, sweet faces of  students reading stories about their community.  The second fiesta was held at Panul School where the children shared their stories with class-mates, teachers and families.

Nicole is now back in America  where she will complete her last year of studies before becoming a teacher.  She plans to integrate her experiences abroad in her teaching curriculum and La Puerta Abierta hopes to create an on-going relationship with her future classes.

La Puerta Abierta extends a heart felt thank you to Nicole for her generosity, compassion, and innovative ideas.

Puzzles for Panabaj

Candelaria has been working in the community of Panabaj for over 3 years now.  She is our Traveling Library Coordinator and every Monday afternoon, she journeys to the tiny Panabaj Community Center nestled between coffee bushes, dirt roads and small square houses to bring 2 hours of fun to the children of Panabaj.  Each visit includes a story, a creative art project and a critical thinking activity.

Last Monday, Candelaria packed up a box of puzzles to share with the children at the Panabaj Learning Center.  I was intrigued to see how such a simple game could bring hours of entertainment to the students.  In addition of "playing" with the puzzles, I observed how the children quickly discovered strategies for linking their puzzle pieces.  This may seem like a simple task for children growing up in developed countries who are surrounded by educational toys and games.  However, for the students of Panabaj toys such as puzzles, memory, and building blocks are hard to come by.  At La Puerta Abierta, we strive to provide opportunities for students to develop their critical thinking skills through play.