Introduction
The Organisation
Fundafamiliar Bienestar is the government social work agency that is charged with protecting and caring for at risk children in Colombia. At risk means that they could be living on the street, at risk of sexual or physical abuse in their home or have special needs that are not being met by their families.
The Orphanage
Caracol de Hogar is a small children's home in Barrio Lemaitre, about 10 minutes by taxi from the centre of Cartagena. There are usually between 15 and 20 boys living there, aged between 8 and 13. They can stay in the home for up to three months, after which they are moved on to more permanent government accommodation or if possible, go back to live with their family.
Cartagenitos
Cartagenitos has been involved with Caracol de Hogar since early 2006 and volunteers have been involved in art activities, excursions and literacy classes. A dedicated and hard working team of long-term volunteers has developed a strong and caring relationship with the staff and children of the home which allows us to do some great work.
Getting started
How I became involved
In September 2006, I moved to Cartagena, a city on Colombia’s Caribbean coast to study Spanish for three months and with the idea of doing some volunteering. One fateful day soon after arriving, I was invited to a (fantastic) party where I met the Volunteer Coordinator of Cartagenitos, Erin Ruegg. Along with a dedicated group of friends, Erin visited the orphanage weekly to run art activities with the boys and invited me to come along.
Need for lessons
After visiting the orphanage a few times and talking with staff, it became clear that a number of boys were not attending school. When I asked why, I was told it was because they could not read or write and were now too old to begin school at the first grade / kindergarten level. I asked the boys if they would like to learn to read and write by having a class every day and they were very excited about it. The staff was also supportive of the idea and it was agreed that the classes would be held in the morning when most of the other boys were at school. I taught over two separate month long periods, October – November 2006 and December – January 2007, having a small break in between because of some visa problems.
Preparation
For the initial class of five, a set of seven 'Nacho' textbooks were bought (with two extra for the teacher and teaching assistant). 'Nacho' is every Colombian child’s first book. It starts from the very beginning of the language – ‘mi mama me ama’ (my mother loves me) – and guides the student through each letter of the alphabet and common Spanish words. Each student also received a notebook, pencil, alphabet chart, sharpener and eraser. For a child who had barely been in school, having this simple stationery was a huge boost to their confidence. Other resources – games, puzzles, activities – were either purchased or created over the course of the classes.
Literacy Classes
Assistance
Luckily, a Canadian traveler named Emily Robinson wrote to Cartagenitos looking to volunteer at around the same time I was beginning the classes. Emily became an excellent teaching assistant, helping to run activities and supervising the students while they wrote and listened to them read. With a class of five, all of whom had behavioural or attention problems, the value of having another volunteer to focus the students and give them individual attention was immense. After four weeks, Emily had to leave for home and the boys missed her greatly.
A normal class
Classes would begin promptly at 9am with a rousing rendition of our class anthem, the alphabet song. ‘a, b, c, ch…’. Each student would read through what they had learnt the previous lesson while I would set them their tasks for the day, usually to learn a new letter of the alphabet, reading through the words and sentences with this letter, writing out the exercises and then reading back what they had written.
This peaceful way of learning would last for about 20 or 25 minutes. The boys would do their best to stay focused on the task but 20 minutes was the limit of their attention span. We would then play some reggaeton, have a dance (the boys were very good at break dancing) and after five minutes head back to class.
The second half of the lesson was devoted to activities or games centered around learning the alphabet. These included card games, cutting letters out from magazines to make words, writing and illustrating stories, playing with syllable cards to make words and doing a YMCA type action dance for the entire alphabet.
After all this excitement, we would finish our lessons with some drawing as a nice relaxed way to end. My second stint of lessons was during the summer holidays when all of the other boys were at the orphanage all day, so we would invite them to join us to create some art after our lessons.
Results
What they learnt When I started the lessons, not one student could recognise all of the letters of the alphabet. Most only knew the easy ones – a, o, x. Half of the students couldn’t write their own name.
By the last class, each student could write any letter of the alphabet when asked. They could read new words confidently and construct words by matching syllables together. Most importantly, each student knew which sound each letter made and as Spanish is an entirely phonetic language, it means that the students are equipped to read and write.
Our students
Jarol (8) – the most advanced member of the class, Jarol had already had one year of schooling but had not been going to school when the classes started because of the problems in his family and being moved to the orphanage. Jarol worked at a different level to the rest of the class and thanks to the lessons he was much more ready to go back to school at a grade appropriate to his age. Jarol began school again in February 2007
Yordi (10) – Yordi went from barely being able to write his name to knowing the letters of the alphabet and reading basic sentences. He was moved after the first month of classes to permanent foster care and was extremely happy the last time I saw him.
Jose Ignacio (12) – even though he hated all things academic, Jose Ignacio went from not having a clue about any of the letters of the alphabet to being able to recognise and pronounce most of them. He could also read and write simple sentences and when forced, secretly enjoyed reading out loud. Jose Ignacio is now living with his family again.
John (12) – probably the student who enjoyed himself the most, John has learning disabilities but made a huge effort to participate in the class. He knew very little of the alphabet when we started but by the last few lessons John was constructing words from syllables, reading new sentences and had made a big improvement in his handwriting. John is back living with his family and from all reports it is going well.
Jordan (13) – the oldest student and the one who hated class the most, Jordan was the least advanced – he had never been to school and didn’t really want to. With time and a lot of encouragement, he started to see the value of reading and writing (especially games involving flipping coins) and could read new words, knew the alphabet and had improved handwriting. On the last day of our classes, Jordan left for a permanent foster home and was very excited about his future.
John-Freddi (11) – John-Freddi joined the class for the last month as he was new to the orphanage and came to our classes as he had no idea how to write his name. He really enjoyed the lessons and improved dramatically to the point where he could read difficult sentences, name each letter of the alphabet and of course, write his name!
Changes, problems and the future
Expanding role
Spending so much time at the orphanage, my role as teacher naturally expanded. Some weekends myself and other volunteers would take the kids to the nearby beach to swim, make sandcastles and have fun in the Caribbean sun. I was invited to a special Halloween party and on excursions to Playa Blanca (a beautiful beach about two hours away) and a bus tour of the city. In these situations, the extra adult and support that I provided was appreciated by the staff. And the boys loved having their gringo mascot…
As time went on, the lessons became more relaxed. Friday’s class was often cancelled by the head staff member so that everyone could go to the beach. I still made my students write words in the sand with sticks, so they didn’t miss class entirely. The drawing and art activities would go on for a long time after literacy class and one day when I turned up everyone had gone out for an excursion except the naughty boys. So I just did the planned activity with them. We had a great time.
Art activities became more centred on personal development. One activity involved everyone being given a paper star which they stuck on a blank piece of paper and each boy had to write down and draw reasons they were a star – a nice way to remind them of their good qualities. We then put them up on the wall of the classroom, along with all the other artwork we did, which the boys would show off to visitors to the orphanage.
Problems and difficulties
Like any job, there were a few problems along the way, but nothing major. When I started, my Spanish wasn’t great – I had just started studying and the thick Cartagena accent was difficult to understand at times. But the boys suffered through and taught me a lot – we always managed to communicate, even if it was with hand signals at first. If someone has enough Spanish to have a conversation with someone, then they can volunteer at the orphanage.
The only other issue we had was the doors upstairs. The key was lost, just after I began the classes and in Cartagena’s tropical heat, this made our classroom pretty hot and sweaty. But like everything, the boys adapted – they would get a fan for each lesson, we drank a lot of water and I think I lost about 10kgs through sweat. If the doors could be unlocked, it will make life easier for future volunteers.
Future classes
In readiness for future volunteers, a teaching pack has been created and left at the orphanage – so that anyone can teach! All they need to know is the Spanish alphabet and to have patience, a sense of humour and a relaxed attitude.
This pack includes the Nacho textbooks, notebooks, alphabet charts, children’s books, alphabet jigsaws, flash cards, pencils, coloured pens, glue, etc.
In addition to this and to make the life of the Volunteer Coordinator a little less stressful, a handbook has been created for new volunteers, detailing all of the information they need to know about the orphanage and offering advice about all the different ways they can help out.
As I write this report, a new volunteer has started teaching the literacy classes using the pack that has been created – ¡viva las clases alfabetismo!
Conclusions
Attracting more volunteers
I would love to see more volunteers working at the orphanage – it is really good for the boys as having gringo teachers / volunteers makes them feel very important. There are also lots of travelers looking to volunteer in Colombia.
To make this happen, volunteering at the orphanage needs to be promoted more widely, especially in hostels around Colombia. I will leave copies of this report in hostels in Bogotá, Cartagena and Medellín and do my best to publicise the website address among travelers.
The orphanage and literacy lessons are tough to do by yourself, so it should be suggested to prospective volunteers to try to get a group of friends or interested travelers together to volunteer at the same time.
Long term projects like literacy classes have a lasting benefit for the kids, most of whom have problems with attachment. It was far more important to the boys that I turned up every day than what I actually did there.
What I learnt
I had the most amazing time teaching and getting to know these boys. All I did was turn up, give them attention, have fun and try my best.
In return, I received so much unconditional love and helped to create so much joy that I feel incredibly lucky to have had this opportunity.
Gracias
Thanks to all of the staff at the orphanage and to our wonderful class – Jarol, John, Yordi, John-Freddi, Jose Ignacio and Jordan – bien trabajo chicos.
A huge thanks to Emily Robinson for all her hard work in the classroom as a fabulous teaching assistant.
Thank you to Erin Ruegg for her eternal efforts as Volunteer Coordinator for Cartagenitos and for organising everything. Gracias a las gringas – por la casa, el hogar y el amor.
Thanks to Basil and Anne Hetzel for their support to allow me to spend a few months having an amazing life and teaching such beautiful people.
Contact details
If you would like to volunteer or just visit the orphanage, and they always need volunteers, please contact Cartagenitos on the details below.
Erin Ruegg
Volunteer Coordinator
Cartagenitos
Phone: +57 310 722 1329
Email: erinruegg@yahoo.com
Website: www.geocities.com/cartagenitos
The Orphanage
Hogar el Caracol – FundaFamiliar
17A – 65, Calle 64
Barrio Daniel Lemaitre
Cartagena de Indias
Colombia
Phone: +57 5 666 0892
This report was prepared by Sammy Riley in January 2007. If you have any questions about this report or volunteering in Cartagena, please email sammy_riley@hotmail.com or ring +57 313 498 9696.