Elementary teachers and OPAI mothers are extremely proud to be giving back to a local community, through professional development in education to the teachers of La Limonada; as well as gathering resources and materials needed in these schools. OPAI mothers will be donating funds from one of the stands during Tienda Day, to assist in the purchase of educational material.
La Limonada forms a border between Zone 1 and Zone 5 in the heart of Guatemala City, and is considered one of the largest urban slums in Central America. There are approximately 60,000 people living in this “settlement”, which is run by two opposing gangs.
The poverty in La Limonada, leads to a lack of education and job opportunities. Therefore, as a school passionate about education and opportunities, we want to give back and assist our fellow neighbors in an area of our expertise: EDUCATION. There are 3 schools in La Limonada: Limon, Mandarina, and Lima. Approximately there are 300 students, who are between 4 and 15 years old.
Every first Wednesday of every month, 1-2 teachers from Inter Elementary volunteer to provide their expertise with a professional development in an area they are most knowledgeable and/or passionate. There are 17 volunteer teachers here at Inter who are dedicating their time and passion to help out with this fantastic opportunity. Each teacher will be providing a PD to approximately 35 teachers from 1 of the 3 schools in La Limonada. These teachers travel an hour each way to attend the professional development in order to learn and become better teachers for these loving and eager students.
We are helping these individuals who are not trained teachers to better educate the children of La Limonada. We are giving back by providing the tools to help educate innocent children, and help them understand that there is an alternative rather than gang life. Inter Elementary believes in their vision, “To develop knowledgeable, responsible, and caring future leaders, by empowering them with critical inquiry and research skills, problem solving skills and moral values, so they can become successful global citizens,” and help the teachers of La Limonada to extend this vision to their students.
Written by: Lisa Cayen de Milian
TECA coordinator
(Teacher Extra-curricular Activity)