Educate 400 adults in rural Mexico

After much duties and preparation, next June 18^th we will reach the locality of San Jose Corral Blanco, in the mountains of Puebla. We are very excited preparing the final details for the campaign of 7 weeks in which 30 volunteers will be giving classes to young adults as well as grown ups in the community. One of our goals this summer is to increase the number of students we work with in 2015. In addition, we will have a three weeks workshop where we will relate with children. One of the innovations of the campaign this year will be the arrival of a group of artists -in collaboration with the Alumnos 47 Foundation- who will communicate art through workshops of music, dancing, costumes and textile pigments.

Two volunteers of our group share some of their thoughts and experiences:

"The project of ¡Alfabetiza! has modified my way of thinking. When I found out about the campaign, I did not doubt in participating. I thought that I could finally teach young and older people how to read and write. However, after the first meeting, it was evident that the project does not only worry about the process of learning of the inhabitants of the community, but also of ours, the volunteers.

¡Alfabetiza! attempts mutual learning. We are going to a community with high rates of illiteracy and we will be giving classes to the inhabitants interested in learning how to read and write. Meanwhile, the students become teachers when they show us their daily labors. Labors that, due to their different style of living, might be unknown to us. This interaction allows our worldview to expand as well as makes us aware of the fact that the city lifestyle is not the one all Mexicans have.

Moreover, it is noteworthy to mention the coexistence among volunteers. Participating in a diverse group with different points of view form different parts of the city is enriching and interesting. Likewise, being able to observe the organization for achieving a goal in common. I think this is where learning begins, both academic due to the different studies each one performs and of human development, related the individual context and life experiences of each one." (Megumi, 26 years old)

"During the pre-campaign, I have learned and experienced situations that have undoubtedly changed the perspective I had about my environment; starting with the Freirean pedagogy, which involves reflecting on what happens in our world and trying to change it. Such learning is reached by working collectively. This is something that has particularly pleased me because I have met wonderful people which I am sure will eventually be great friends to me.

In my opinion, from the pre-campaign I have managed to be more tolerant and to be able to reflect on the different views that each one can have according to their life context. This has helped me to work as a team, something that in my career I have considered very difficult.

I conceive in different ways our job in the campaign: in one hand, I think it will be hard to adapt to the community; while on the other hand, I consider that it will be a very rewarding experience, in which we will realize that all the efforts made in pre-campaign were worth it.

As suggested by the theory of Paulo Freire, the process of man’s liberalization can only happen jointly. I imagine that along our job in campaign I will learn much of the people of the community of San José Corral Blanco, sharing stories and experiences where each one of us contribute with something that will certainly be significant for both." (Narciso, 23 years old)