ProLiteracy Kicks off the New Year in Latin America—Part II

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Here are more exciting updates on site visits to ProLiteracy's Latin America partner projects from Alesha Anderson, international programs coordinator, and Lynn Curtis, international services consultant:

Fundacion Bienestar Humano
Fundacion Bienestar Humano provides holistic family programs for marginalized populations, including populations that have been displaced by conflict and guerilla warfare throughout Colombia. FBH has hosted various literacy and micro enterprise training initiatives this year to help participants improve their businesses and support their families.

Pueblorico
Pueblorica is a small community about four hours from Medellin, Colombia. Their literacy and micro enterprise project focuses on cooperative clothing design, manufacturing, marketing, and distribution. Pueblorico works mainly with women and is growing with new products and increasing levels of participation from community members.

Fundacion Juan Tama
Fundacion Juan Tama works with adult learners to advance small business and education training. They are currently implementing a project with adult learners of the Nasa tribe, a marginalized indigenous group in the mountains of Popayan, only a few hours from the border of Colombia and Ecuador, the guerrilla/FARC zone. Facilitators provide first language literacy classes as well as income generating classes to provide better employment options for those working illegally in the coca fields to provide for their families.

In addition to getting updates on partners’ activities, Lynn and Alesha will be offering training and helping partners to plan ways to incorporate ProLiteracy’s participatory model into ongoing and new income generating activities. Please check back here for photos, videos, and more updates!

Comments

  1. KrisSeptember 4, 2011 at 3:03 PM

    Dear Alesha,

    What are the some of the key ideas in the training you provide?

    Kris

    ReplyDelete
  2. EcuatoriGringaSeptember 6, 2011 at 2:05 PM

    @ Kristucker the training we provide is called Literacy for Social Change. It is a unique methodology that we offer to teachers/tutors which combines literacy education with cutting-edge strategies for human development. This method of learning integrates fundamental skills, critical thinking, cultural expression, and learner-initiated action to help individuals and communities be involved in assessing their needs and implementing solutions to the problems that affect them most at the local level. Learners design and implement action plans that address the development needs of their community. These plans can include anything from promoting human rights, starting health clinics, digging clean water wells, forming micro credit and cooperative business ventures and a host of other participant-originated efforts. More important than these observable action projects, however, is the base of new skills, information, values and confidence that enables learners to continue development in their lives and communities long after NGOs/international aid organizations are gone.

    -Alesha Anderson, International Program Coordinator, ProLiteracy

    ReplyDelete

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