We had over sixty attendants among them the Ministry of Education Director for the Department of La Union which is where we are located. He also had a few words to say to the group and was very pleased that our school - Las Marias - has been included in the pilot project for the "EITP" (the inclusive and longer day school model). Mr. Carlos Reyes, the Regional Director for La Union, gave his verbal support for the program including helping us source a kindergarden, some computers (laptops) for a computer centre, additional funding for at least one if not two staff positions for the school! Although it is not his decision completely, it is nice to know that when it goes to San Salvador (headquarters) for MINED, it will have his seal of approval.
On another note, Modesto (the librarian) and I have been busy coding books including ones donated to use from the school itself. Most of them we have had to clean and some we have had to repair due to damage but we already received training on how to do that in San Juan del Sur last month.
Additionally, I have been sending out some donation requests to some local contacts to receive some furniture for the library and hopefully we will hear about that some time this month.
This is at the end of year meeting of teacher and directors. I was introducing myself to most of them.
This is the group of teachers.
Here I am introducing the project of the "Las Marias Biblioteca Móvil" and showing pictures of our progress.
This is Mr. Carlos Reyes, the Regional Director for La Union speaking to the group. Beside him is
Mr. Carlos Canales the Superintendent.
Mr. Reyes addressing the group.
Grade nine graduates at the Centre Escolar Las Marias.
These are youth participating in one of the planned workshops for the summer holidays. They are learning to make hammocks.
Another group of kids, youth and even adults learning to make hammocks.
This is another group making use of the various spaces available at the school to learn the craft of hammock making.
There are hammocks being made between each of the pillars of the multi-purpose space at the school.
Our training for the EITP is complete, we will receive our diploma in a ceremony in January and the teachers and I are busy planning workshops and changes for the upcoming school year. I feel very privileged to have been incorporated into the staff and activities of the centre. I was even invited to hand out graduation certificates during the graduation ceremony for students leaving the school and going on to high school.
The first few workshops offered will be during the summer holidays. As you can see from the pictures above, children, youth and adults will be learning the craft of hammock making. Many of the grade nine graduates you see in the picture will not go on to high school because for high school and university the parents are the ones who have to pay all of the cost for uniforms, school supplies, school fees, transportation, food, etc. The high school is a 60 minute walk away or a fifty cent bus ride away (each way). When parents who work doing odd jobs for others earn at most $12 dollars a day, when there is work, these costs become a barrier for continued education for these children. As such some of the workshops planned for the holidays and the new school year are aiming to teach skills which will allow children, youth and adults to earn a living doing something and to gain skills necessary to pursue further education. The mobile library will be coordinating with other rural schools in the area to open these up to most communities of the municipality eventually, although we are beginning in the southern region with six rural communities.
