Hello to all the wonderful supporters of VAMOS! and Canadian Friends of VAMOS!

Pictures are worth a thousands words.

Above a picture of our first day at the Colonia 28 de Agosto, Tuesday, January 3^rd, 2006. We expected 12 to 15 adolescent students – 21 arrived. We had six laptop computers connected together. This allows the students to share the data they create. All were connected to a high speed internet service.

Three to four students shared a computer.

They worked cooperatively together.

The classes were supposed to start at 3:00 pm and end at 5:00 pm on Tuesdays and Thursdays. We brought all the equipment at 2:00 and arranged the tables in a U. By 2:30 pm students started arriving. We gave each student a folder with a picture of the keyboard, a pen and their first assignment; a form in which to write their name, age, why they wanted to attend classes and what they wanted to be. By 3 minutes to 3:00 they were ready.

They were taught the important features of the keyboard, how to enter the word processor and then told to key in their first assignment.

They helped each other learn how to enter capitals, backspace, delete, end sentences and even use the spell checker to correct underlined words. On completion of their assignment they were taught how to save their document using their own name as their file name.

Will took a picture of each student. We would love to include them all. We will put them on our blog once we get to that session.

The students are gorgeous, excited and keen to learn. Their stated reasons for coming to class are to learn about computers, to be able to get a good job, to do well in school and to research information for their school projects.

All want to be professionals – the most popular choices are teacher, nurse, doctor, lawyer, engineer and architect.

Once they completed their assignment they were taught how to navigate the internet. Their interests varied – they included the planets, satellite imaging, the history of basketball, their favorite music group and games. We promised to bring a printer next time so they would not have to copy long hand all the information.

No one wanted to leave at 5:00 so we let them discover on their own until almost 6:00pm

I peeked to see what was so exciting.

I am not sure what but they are obviously in control.

No one was bored.

On Thursday, January 5^th we came back at 2:00 pm to set up for the second session. We had taken their first assignments and pasted their pictures into their documents.

Again students started to arrive at 2:30 pm. By 3:00 we had 27 students.

We took the new students and put them on one computer with Mauricio, left, who offered to help the new students with their assignments.

Groups of returning students surrounded the remaining 5 computers. Their second assignment was to call up their first assignment which now included their pictures and add a personal biography. Each group immediately called up all their assignments as they were anxious to see their pictures. We passed a group of boys who seemed to have opened not only their assignments but those of Maria and other female names. We asked how come and they blushed as well as the girls whose pictures they were admiring.

As part of their assignment they were asked to practice selecting text, cutting and pasting text and copying text from one document to another.

They continued to work well together as a group. After their exercises we printed their biographies with their pictures and those who had projects at school printed out information from the web for their assignments.

The students again stayed until 6:00 pm when we had to ask them to leave.

Six computers are not enough for 27 seven students. We have four more computers on order. They should arrive in 10 days or so.

Aside from Tuesdays and Thursdays at Colonia 28 de Agosto we have classes on Mondays and Wednesdays at Colonia Primero de Mayo.

Lilia Cervantes Estrada is working as the project leader and teacher and her brother Oscar, 21, is her assistant and is a driver with a vehicle and a background as a computer technician.

After the students are finished they continue to play together on the field outside the VAMOS! community centre. Without a ball, they improvise with an empty plastic pop bottle.

Thanks for your help. These children are working for a better future.

Claudia and Will

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The second week Jan 9 to 12, 2006

Last week at 28 of August the student population continued to grow. On Tuesday we had 33 students!!! It is growing beyond all expectations. We arrived at 2:00pm and by 2:15 we had 20 students and by 3:00 we had 33. This is Oscar – Lilia’s brother with a new student. He is a great help and we took less than 15 minutes to set up. We learned how to do bold, italics, underline, change fonts and colours and centre. Also we explored the planets using the internet. And some printed information for school projects.

On Thursday the 12^th of January we arrived at 2:00pm and there were already 4 students waiting outside. They helped us set up. 10 minutes. They wanted to print out articulo 24 from the Mexican constitution. Into google and done. They obviously had homework and this article describes the guarantees and rights each Mexican citizen enjoys.  We had 2 new students bringing our total to 35. Someone brought a soccer ball. We have short explanations of the challenges of the day when everyone is in the room and then 3 or 4 students crowd around each computer helping each other complete the exercises. The rest go out and play soccer. They rotate as they finish their work. At 5:45 they are called in and they can navegate the internet.

It is wildly exciting.

The Primero de Mayo project where we go Mondays and Wednesdays is much quieter. It is a much poorer area; the students are more timid but are learning quickly. Below is Mary’s abarrotes store. This is across the street from the project. On Wednesday half way through the session I had a craving for coffee.

I went out and asked Mary if she could make me a coffee. She said yes and went away for a while and then came back to say it would be ready soon. Twenty minutes later she came back with a pot of boiling water and a mug. Did I have my own Nescafe? No. She brought me a little package of Nescafe. It cost 30 cents and makes 5 cups. I called Will and we used 1/3 each and now have enough left for another cup another day. That is 10 cent coffee. Could we pay her for boiling the water? No.

While waiting for our coffee we watched her sales. A person would come and chat for awhile and then buy one banana, the next customer, one cigarette, the next a few beens, and so on.  

Mary opened her store 4 years ago. Every morning very early she goes to the downtown Cuernavaca market and buys what she hopes she will sell that day. The round trip by public transport takes 2 ¼ hours. The store was the first room built of her home. When the family is able to save some money a chair or a door or a window or a new room is purchased or added. Mary does have electricity as you can see by the meter at the left.  I am going to ask her if she receives remittances from family members working in the US.

Two of her grandchildren are taking the Canadian Friends of VAMOS! computer classes.

This is Sarai Berenice Leonardo García. She is Mary’s granddaughter. Sarai lives with her grandmother and is studying to be a nurse in her technical high school. She is 15 years old and wants to learn how to use a computer be able to research school projects and complete them faster.

Salvador Ivan Leonardo Garcia is Sarai’s brother and is 12 years old.

Salvador wants to be a vet so he can help animals who are sick and cure the diseases that attack animals.

He is attending the first year of a technical high school and is given home work which requires access to a computer. He does not have access and this is his first exposure to a computer. He is learning very quickly. Here also we finish at 6:00 pm when we have to ask them to leave.

Eureka!!! Four more computers arrived Saturday morning (January 14) while we were attending the annual meeting of our colonia, Rancho Tetela. They are all tested and working.

Off to help Will set up the expanded network.

Be well

Abrazos, Claudia and Will

Canadian Friends of VAMOS! mobile lab; the seventh week

On Tuesday, February 14^th, 2006 we paid a surprise visit to Colonia 28 de Agosto with Alejandro, the director of VAMOS! and several member of the VAMOS! board.

Quiet on the outside.

Busy on the inside.

The students had asked if they could present to their classmates the text they had written describing what they want to be when they are older.

We arrived just in time to listen to their presentations. Above is Adriana Hernández Villegas giving her talk. Adriana wants to be an ecologist or environmentalist.

As Adriana gave her speech the rest of the class called up her document on their screens so they could follow her talk as well as see how she nicely she had formatted her presentation.

Hugo Palestina Fernandez presents his talk and wants to be a soccer player. Alejandro Lopez, the director of VAMOS! looks on.

Hugo’s classmates follow his presentation.

After the presentation the students checked their e-mail account. To their delight they had many Valentine’s greetings with many wonderful and imaginative graphics. The friendship greetings came from the students at Colonia Primero de Mayo, where the Canadian Friends of VAMOS! mobile lab visits every Monday and Wednesday afternoon. The students at the two locations are getting to know each other through e-mail.

These students are busy replying to their colleagues at Colonia Primero de

Mayo

Oscar is helping.

After the formal classes the students stay for an additional 2 hours to navigate the internet and work on school assignments.

Next week the students at each project are going to start to design and write a community newspaper. Each student has been asked to interview someone in the community; to ask about their life; what brought them to their colonia; how the colonia chose its name; when the colonia was established; who is the ayudante (municipal leader); how long have they lived in the community; how many generations live in their house; how did they build their house; how long did it take to build; etc.

We are very excited with the interest and enthusiasm of the students at the two mobile labs. Most of the students come two afternoons a week for up to 5 hours (and this is after their public school in the morning) to an after school program that is free and optional. Their desire to learn and work and cooperate together is truly amazing.

On March 4^th 2006, we are starting the 3^rd location of our mobile lab. It will take place every Saturday morning from 9:00 to 12:00 at Casa Tatic in downtown Cuernavaca. We have invited the children 10 years and over who currently attend programs at Casa Tatic. Casa Tatic provides an educational and feeding program to the children of the downtown street sellers.

Casa Tatic is the first of the VAMOS! projects to have high speed internet access. In March, 2005 Canadian Friends of VAMOS! installed 3 computers and a high speed internet service. On Saturdays with the additional 9 laptop computers belonging to the mobile lab and our leaders, Lilia and Oscar, we will be able to introduce the same programs evolving so successfully at the other two locations.

Claudia and Will for Canadian Friends of VAMOS!