Projects Abroad are delighted to have supported ICTC this summer to bring a hugely successful summer course to the children of low-income families. Support for the project in the Mexican town of Cd. Guzman came in the form of financial help through sponsorship of pupils and volunteers lending their time to teach.
ICTC (International Cambridge Training Centre) organised a summer school course for young children between the ages of 6 to 12 years old. The Institute which normally specialises in providing English tuition for all ages hosted a course of activities which covered arts & crafts, drama, computing sports as well as English lessons. The initial response for the course was overwhelming, 50 children immediately applied to take part.
The first aim of the institute's work is to provide good quality English lessons and so Projects Abroad were more than happy to arrange for our volunteers to assist the local Mexican teachers. The teachers were able to focus on the grammar side of things. The volunteers meanwhile with their skill of being native English speakers focused on the conversational side and how the language actually works in practice. With everyone participating and playing to their strengths all the pupils received a really enjoyable and well rounded curriculum.
Furthermore, the institute does its utmost to create programmes which integrate an element of community service in its work. With that in mind Projects Abroad worked with them to sponsor 10 children from very low income families to participate in the course. The orphans chosen were from the DIF (Desarrollo Integral de la Familia) a government department which carries out a lot of a lot of social care work in local communities.
One of the highlights of the project was undoubtedly the closing ceremony. The students all performed a series of four plays in English. The enthusiasm from both the volunteers and students was quite evident to everyone watching and was a sight to behold. The students put on a seamless performance and were thoroughly deserving of the diplomas they were presented with at the end of the course.
Projects Abroad would like to thank everyone involved but especially Vanessa Reufsteck, Verena Linke and Kate Turner who selflessly dedicated their time, effort and commitment to make the project so successful. We are sure that they must be as pleased with the results of their hard work as everyone else is.
