Project Amigo

Perhaps it's only poetically appropriate, then, that we accomplish what we do through two primary mechanisms as well: financial contributions to our child sponsorship programs; and a number of hands-on humanitarian service Work Weeks here in Mexico.    

With a couple of exceptions, our Service Work Weeks are held during what most North Americans refer to as "the winter months"- November through March- and what in Colima state we refer to as "perfect weather." (Would it be of any use to you if I mentioned that the average daily temperature in Cofradía during those months is about 74 degrees Fahrenheit?)    

We just finished a great Work Week season at Project Amigo, and we wish to thank all who served with us, or contributed in any and every way to our mission. We hope you will read (and enjoy) the accompanying articles- one a brief report of this winter's humanitarian service activities, and the other an announcement for upcoming Work Weeks... beginning with our always popular July Spanish Immersion Class.

Here are some "bundled" statistics from our 2012 - 2013 Work Week Season. Over the course of the season:

• Volunteers labeled, crated and then delivered 3900 new books to 18 school libraries (typically enjoying a formal 'thank you' celebration with the students and their teachers and administrators)
• Gave 1900 books of one's own (fondly called by us 'BOOO') to individual children
• Labeled and prepared another 1900 books that were subsequently delivered to nearly 20 additional schools by PA staff and members of the Colima Rotary Club
• Three hundred and thirty children received a new pair of pants, a new shirt or blouse, socks, under garments, and a new pair of shoes during our annual Christmas Fiesta.
• Nearly 100 additional pairs of new shoes and approximately 300 pounds of donated clothing were distributed at other times and places.
• Eight dental hygiene clinics were held at schools in seven communities, events which included fluoride treatments and new toothbrushes for nearly 750 children.   
• Nearly 1200 people in four communities received visual health screenings and, when indicated, a pair of glasses.
• 240 children went to the beach, the Cuyutlán Turtle Preserve, and saw the ocean; most for the first time in their lives.

Though it is somewhat difficult to quantify with precision, we can say with some confidence that over the course of the 2012 - 2013 Work Week season, Project Amigo volunteers gave more than 7200 man-hours of humanitarian service. What is impossible to measure is the number of tears shed, the number of dreams fulfilled, the number of hearts touched, lives changed, or perspectives altered or clarified. 

Just FYI: new work weeks for the 2013 - 2014 Work Week season will include an enhancement to our Literacy work weeks that incorporates some more (oft-requested) elements of ecology and agriculture important to the region in which we live and work (birding, traditional botany, sugar and coffee production); and two weeks dedicated to teaching English as a Second Language to our scholars!

In each and all, the focus is on Humanitarian Service. Each day of a Service Work Week, volunteers engage in a variety of projects designed to combine humanitarian service, educational experience, and fun. While the general "theme" of each Work Week is unique, the common elements include immersion in rural Mexican culture, and significant interaction with Project Amigo's sponsored children (K-6) and scholarship students (7th-college), whether in recreational, educational, or focused service activities.

Cultural Immersion interlaces everything you will experience. While a large portion of our humanitarian service focus is on education (the "Project" part), the other portion is on building friendships to last a lifetime (the "amigo" part)! We will work, but there will be plenty of opportunities to enjoy Mexican cuisine, culture and regional history while you are here. Our weeks typically include a bit of instruction in conversational Spanish, a Mexican cooking class, perhaps some baile (dance), and a visit to indigenous ruins or an ecological sanctuary on the Pacific coast. The week ends with an opportunity to shop for local handicrafts and souvenirs.

Here's the Schedule for the 2013 - 2014 Season, beginning with our upcoming Spanish Immersion Class in July:

Spanish Immersion Course (July 7 - 27, 2013: three weeks in duration)
No other experience at Project Amigo lets you get to know our scholars like this one does. Under the guidance of an experienced bilingual instructor, and with your own private tutor (you will enjoy the unique strengths of at least three different tutors during the seminar), you will be speaking Spanish from day one. This three-week seminar combines intensive focus on basic conversational skills (usually in the morning) with immersion in Mexican cultural experiences (afternoon or evening), humanitarian service, and both structured and free social time with your tutors and peers.

Literacy and Environment (Nov. 9 - 17, 2013 or March 15 - 22, 2014)
These twice-yearly work weeks offer visitors a unique and fulfilling combination of service and ecological discovery. You will assist in various regional literacy projects with disadvantaged children and youth, and enjoy a variety of ecological immersions with local experts in birding, botany, agriculture and volcanology, in a variety of settings from the Pacific Coast to our own active, backyard volcano.

Christmas Fiesta  (December 7 - 15, 2013 and December  6 - 14, 2014)
Every year Project Amigo and the Colima Rotary Club host a Christmas party for more than 250 disadvantaged children. During the week before the party, volunteers sort, wrap, and label gifts of new clothing, shoes, and toys, then distribute them to the children. The climax of the week is the Fiesta itself, during which volunteers serve food, play with the children, and bring Christmas joy to hundreds of little ones. The week will also give visitors the opportunity to experience the Mexican Festival of the Virgin of Guadalupe.

English as Second Language (January 5 - 18, 2014: two weeks in duration)
One of the most fulfilling experiences you can have with Project Amigo is working one-on-one with our amazing scholarship students. And one of the most valuable skills our students wish to obtain is the ability to converse in English. Even with a college degree, that ability to function in English can be the deciding factor in the achievement of a good job. In this course, under the direction of a certified TESOL Instructor (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages) you will spend a portion of your day as Tutor to one of our advanced-standing (late high-school/college) scholarship students, and the remainder in reciprocal (English-Spanish) cultural immersion, service, and free-time activities with your tutors and peers.

Preventive Dental Health (February 1- 8, 2014)
Poor dental health is one of the biggest challenges facing disadvantaged children