Saturday, July 01, 2006
Fund for Teachers Project in the Yucatan...Closing Thoughts
Spending weeks observing and volunteering at Centro de Atencion Multiple was a very valuable experience for me that will allow me to work on future projects at the school. Through working with students and staff, I now have a better understanding of the needs at the school which will allow me to provide the school with resources and materials to expand upon their programming. I gained an overall understanding of educational and community resources available to the children and their families. I am always excited to meet other educators that share my passion for working with children with disabilities. I truly believe that passionate teachers are the key to success for our kids. Facilities, resources, budgets...are all very different in Mexico compared to the U.S. - but what truly matters is the love & passion of the teachers.
In addition to working in the schools while in the Yucatan, I continued working in cooperation with Angel Notion (a local non-profit organization in Playa del Carmen, Mexico) on child find missions in the region. Children with more severe cognitive, physical and behavioral disabilities are not being served by the public education school system in Mexico. The school system lacks the staffing, budget, facilities and training to work with these children. The goal of the child find missions is to go into the community, into the homes of the children to find out what resources are available to help families care for their children. Information about child find missions will be updated on the Carrie's Heart website at www.carriesheart.org
You can also read about the Valerie Project on the website. Valerie is a young girl who was identified during a March, 2006 child find mission who has inspired many to help the children of the island of Cozumel. Read about Valerie and the Valerie Project in the blog archives (March until present) and on the website linking to the Valerie Project page from the homepage.
I would like to extend my personal gratitude to the Fund for Teachers and all of it's sponsors for giving me the opportunity to have personal and professional experiences in the Yucatan this summer that will enhance my ability to positively affect the lives of children with disabilities.
// posted by Carrie's Heart @ 1:38 PM 
