Cedeño Eductational ProjectSummer 2005 NewsletterCedeño, Honduras Together with the Honduran nonprofit, Asociación Andar, and with the help of churches, schools, and individuals here in the US, we are improving educational opportunities for children and young adults in Cedeño, Honduras. Our two main educational projects are:
Interview with a CEDIF Mother
Tell me a little bit about your family. There are 4 of us in my family. Nelson Velasquez Fuentes is my husband. I've lived here in Cedeño about 10 years, and I've been married seven years, almost eight. I got married at age 15. Do you feel that your children are experiencing a childhood similar to yours? No, I think their experience is going to be different because I have faith that I will be able to work, and that Nelson also will continue to work, so that our children can study. My brothers and sisters and I were not able to study because we had to work. We went to the ocean every day with my father, and we went out on his boat with him. Now, all the fishing boats have motors that run on their own, but back then it was the children's job to work the oars to power the boat. It was good exercise for us! But because of this, we weren't able to finish school. I finished the fourth grade, and then I had to quit school in order to help support my family. This past August I entered the fifth grade with Educatodos (an adult education program for people who did not finish primary school). I passed fifth grade last year, and this year I'll be in sixth grade. My dream is that, unlike me, my daughters' studies won't be interrupted, and that they'll be able to go to the university one day and have a career. What impact has the CEDIF had on your daughters and on your family as a whole?
They have learned things this year that I wouldn't have been able to teach them on my own. They know so many songs, now, and they come home from the CEDIF every day singing. Nelson is so happy because when he comes home from work, they sing to him. They all sit in the hammock, and they start to sing. He has even learned some of the songs and he sings along with them! One time when I came to the CEDIF to pick up the girls, I noticed that an educadora was reading a book called Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What do you See? (by Eric Carle) to the children, and Katerin was reciting the whole thing along with the teacher. I was so surprised, and I told Nelson about it. He wanted to see Katerin "reading" in this way, so the other day I brought him to the CEDIF with me, and Katerin read the story to him. He had so much admiration for her at that moment. The CEDIF has helped to open up communication in our family, because when they come home they tell us what they did, what they ate for snack, and if there's a parents' meeting coming up... or they sing with us and read stories to us. This has made us more united. We are both very happy that the girls have been learning good manners. For example, they show me how they've learned to brush their teeth correctly, they say "Buenos dias" to me in the morning and "Buenas tardes" when they come home from the CEDIF after classes. When I ask them to do something now, they are more likely to do it, so I think they are learning what it means to follow directions. Before beginning at the CEDIF, they were both so shy. But now, it's not so. They feel more comfortable around new people, and are more likely to interact with people that pass by our home. They have more self-confidence. What importance do you think the CEDIF has in the community? Well, for me, I wanted my daughters to start learning beginning when they were small. It's wonderful to have a center like this in our community because it gives all of the families here the opportunity to help their children start learning. Children who attend a good preschool are then more prepared to enter first grade when the time comes. They are awakened to learning, and they have the confidence they need to begin school. What are your hopes for the future of the CEDIF? I look forward to having our own building when the construction of the new CEDIF is finished! It will be nice to have a place that is all our own, that will be able to benefit the entire community . New CEDIF
Reflections by Volunteers Ben and Leslie Roth
After five months, Cedeño has started to feel more like home, although there are many contrasts. Life in NYC was compartmentalized compared with our existence here, for example. In Manhattan it was easy for us to distinguish between work and rest, and between community service and the privacy of home. Living where we work has changed all that on a number of levels (not merely in reducing a 60 minute subway commute to a 5 minute walk down a sandy road). * Teaching the children at the CEDIF about a healthy diet easily melds with a happenchance run-in with a neighbor who asked for help to improve her exercise habits.
Summer 2007 Newsletter
A World Institute for a Sustainable Humanity |
Yajaira Yamileth Amador Velasquez is a 22-year-old mother of two CEDIF children, Katerin Maritza (5 years) who is in the Kindergarten group, and Marcela Yamileth (4 years), who is in the Preschool group. This is the family's first year participating in the CEDIF program. Yajaira is also the Secretary of the Comité de Apoyo, the group of CEDIF parents who serve as leaders in making decisions, raising funds, planning special events, and supporting the everyday functioning of the CEDIF.
