Cafeteros Invite RPCVs to Serve Once More
The city of Medallin, the Universidad Pedaggica of Tunja and the Federation of Coffee Growers of Caldas are all interested in having former Colombian Peace Corps volunteers return to Colombia to serve again.
Maureen Orth (1964-66 Medallin) recently spent 10 days in Colombia meeting with officials there to explore the possibility of having former volunteers return to Colombia for three weeks, three months, or more. Mayor Sergio Fajardo of Medallin, who has invested 40% of the city's budget in education, is eager for former volunteers with experience teaching English as a second language to train Colombian teachers in Medallin's new Centro de Idiomas slated to open next November.
We haven't yet figured out a good way to train teachers, he said. We would welcome former volunteers to help us. The coffee growers, the country's largest nongovernmental agency, wants RPCVs in Manizales and Pereira to train school administrators in management, assist at virtual learning centers where campesinos learn how to use the computer, and help design the most effective curriculum in these centers. Other programs in health and small business also are being studied.
In addition, Escuelas Nuevas, a successful rural teaching program in Latin America, also would like to collaborate on an English- teaching curriculum. All of these programs would be administered in-country by NGOs and educational institutions with excellent track records. The plan taking shape envisions that housing and a stipend would be provided. Those able to pay their own transportation would be encouraged to do so, and others could be funded.
Former volunteer Jack Whelan, who returned to teach last October at the university in Tunja, reports that one can live simply but comfortably on $800 a month or less. He is the impetus behind a pilot program of student teachers who are being sent to Escuela Marina Orth in rural Medallin, another institution that would welcome RPCVs.
Any former Colombia volunteer interested in serving again should contact Maureen Orth at morth@k12wired.com. Orth says the possibilities to help are vast. Colombia is much safer now and there is a palpable sense that the country is on the move.