newsletter gvi mexico january-march 2014

8/11/2019 Newsletter GVI Mexico January-March 2014

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GVI MEXICO MARCH 2014, ISS

GVI MEXICOMARCH 2014, ISSUE 1

Inside this Issue

Juvenile and Adult

Monitoring.

English lessons at the Ludote

Cooperative Las Orqudea

Sian Kaan

Cocos Cat Rescue An

Fundraising Event

Pez Maya Observer of

Month

International Womens D

Gender Equality Enforcemen

INTRODUCTIONWelcome to the first edition of the

GVI Mexico trimestral newsletter.

GVI is a non-political, non-religious

organization, which operates in the

third sector filling critical voids in

the fields of environmental

research, conservation, education,

and community development. Our

funding comes from donors,

fundraisers, paying volunteers,

interns, corporate donations, NGOs,

and governmental and international

funding bodies.

We are working in the Yucatan

Peninsula, in partnership with

Amigos de Sian Kaan and Flora,

Fauna y Cultura de Mxico, A.C.,

collecting marine and terrestrial

data, as well as on the community

and veterinary projects in Playa del

Carmen alongside our partners

Cocos Cat Rescue, Save the

Children, and The Equine Therapy

and Integral Care Center.

Each issue of the newsletter will

look to bring a summary of the

latest achievements of GVI in its

Mexico Program.

We hope you will find these updates

enjoyable!

- THE GVI TEAM

JUVENILE AND ADULT FI

MONITORING

In the heart of the Sian K

Biosphere Reserve you can

Pez Maya base where GVI work

partnership with Amigos de

Kaan, we collect data of

Caribbean reefs. Many diffe

methods are used globally to co

data about the health of a coral r

At Pez Maya we use

Mesoamerican Barrier Reef Syst

synoptic monitoring program.

Volunteers are guided by

members to achieve monito

level within four to eight w


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since their arrival. Our phase for January showed great

data collecting potential, achieving 100% in their

identification exams, sizing and in-water spots in only

three weeks. Volunteers must combine in-depth

knowledge of their subject, be it fish or coral, and

excellent diving skills to be able to begin monitoring.

A fish monitoring team consists of one juvenile monitor

and one adult monitor. The pair scan a transect of 30

meters, writing down on slates the species and sizes of

any target fish that swims through an imaginary two

meter cubed box in the case of adults and one meter

cubed box for juvenile.

An adult and juvenile buddy pair laying out the tape measure and

using the T-bar to monitor within a 2 m3

box.

ENGLISH LESSONS AT THE LUDOTECA

In the current age of globalization and social media,

being multilingual is increasingly common and certainly

an asset. The English language has enormous political,

economic, and cultural significance. For children in

Mexico having some understanding of English in addition

to their native tongue is a distinct advantage, especially

in Playa where tourism is the primary industry.

In January 2014 GVI started delivering English lessons at

the ludoteca to equip the children who attend daily with

more tools for their futures. With the approval of Sa

the Children representatives, English lessons have be

planned out for the children until June, when the curre

interns will finish their volunteer stay in Playa.

The first few weeks address Hello my name is, numbe

1-50, and I am _ years old. It then develops along the

lines to include colours, countries, flags, animals, fo

and so on. These are also topics which can be creati

interactive and fun. We try and include an activity wit

the English lesson which is either creative or fun such

games.

Volunteers Maddie and Nicole teaching English to young kids.

In the first week the children created name badges,

the second they played bingo with the newly acquir

knowledge of English numbers. Future activities plann

include Guess who?and Noahs ark, so acquiring anothlanguage will be tremendous fun.

The first few lessons have been a great success. In t

coming months we will continue to provide lessons

different standards so all the children of the ludote

and the community benefit.

To learn more about Save the Children vi

http://www.savethechildren.org
http://www.savethechildren.org/http://www.savethechildren.org/http://www.savethechildren.org/


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GVI provided willing, interested bodies for the ladies

practice their performance on the different tours; to

them our opinions and also to provide them with a gu

of the English vocabulary and phrases they will need

learn to offer a better service to international custome

All the tours generated different opinions and lots

feedback, but in general it was a beautiful experien

and it was very rewarding to see these women hap

following their dreams, and sharing their knowledge a

experiences with us.

COCOS CAT RESCUE ANNUAL

FUNDRAISING EVENT

Cocos Cat Rescue is a GVI partner in the V

programme. They are an organization that provid

valuable services, such as spaying and neutering, to t

cats and dogs within the community in Playa del Carm

The team runs entirely on donations and GVI lent

helping hand for their 5thannual fundraising event. T

team in Playa was in charge of contacting lo

businesses in the city and generating awareness a

interest in donating a prize for an auction.

A month before the event, the GVI team took up t

mantle of fundraisers and official procurers of spons

for the event through the initial contact with sh

owners, delivering of leaflets and posters to promote t

event and raise awareness of responsible ownership.

We managed to gain a large number of exciting a

valuable items for both the online and live auctio

which would take place at the event itself. The

included donations of art work, jewellery, dinners

two at local restaurants, tickets for tours, entrances

the legendary Coco Bongo, diving equipment a

instruction, tattoo vouchers, gym memberships, yo

COOPERATIVE LAS ORQUDEAS DE SIAN

KAAN

Among Pez Mayas main objectives we find the necessity

to keep a close and healthy relationship between GVI

and the community of Punta Allen, to raise awareness on

different key environmental issues as well as to build

capacities among the members of the community. As

part of this project, the staff and volunteers from Pez

Maya were taken on four different eco-tours organized

by the new women cooperative in the Sian Kaan

Biosphere Reserve Las Orqudeas de Sian Kaan.

The Sian Kaan Orchids Cooperative was created about

two years ago by a group of outstanding women from

Punta Allen that wanted to offer a different product in

the Reserve, diversify the tourist options, and support

the family economy. Their project has been supported by

different institutions like the National Commission of

Natural Protected Areas (CONANP), Amigos de Sian

Kaan, the Compact UN program, and the WWF.

On February we had the privilege to cooperate with

them participating, as tourists, in the hiking, history,

kayaking, and cycling tours guided by the members of

this community.

Kayaking in the mangrove system.


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GVI team at the event.

To learn more about Cocos Cat Rescue vi

http://cocoscatrescue.org/

PEZ MAYA OBSERVER OF THE MONTH

In addition to recording specific coral and fish species,

Pez Maya we contribute to several scientific databa

and keep internal records to monitor other fauna such

migratory and non-migratory bird species, shar

stingrays, sea turtles, and dolphins to name a few.

The data collected by volunteers over the last mon

has contributed to the following databases: Sh

Network Observation (www.sharksonline.net), O

SEAMPA (http://seamap.env.duke.edu/) , as well

internal GVI databases. During March our volunte

recorded two Bull Sharks, seven Nurse Sharks, seven rof varying species including, the Yellow Stingr

Southern Stingray, Lesser Electric Ray and Caribbe

Stingray. Because of this, GVI Pez Maya has been nam

Observer of the Month for March 2014 by the Sh

Observation Network. Volunteers also contributed

OBIS SEAMAP with seven turtle and sixteen Bottleno

dolphin observations. Turtle species identified were t

Loggerhead turtle and the Green turtle.

lessons and many, many more. These extremely

generous prizes reflect not only the hard work of the

fundraising team (who probably walked a marathon

distance up and down 5th during this period) and the

dedication of the Cocos team, but also the level of

enthusiasm for this kind of work within the community.

Cocos 5th

Annual Fundraising event poster.

The GVI team helped secure over 100 sponsors, raising

$3798 US purely on online auctions, helped selling over

200 tickets to the event and had 70 more donations up

for auction on the event night. The fundraising not only

served to gain donations and prizes for the event but

also enabled us to raise awareness of Cocos mission,

GVIs commitment to community development in Playa

and advocate responsible care of animals.
http://cocoscatrescue.org/http://cocoscatrescue.org/http://www.sharksonline.net/http://seamap.env.duke.edu/http://seamap.env.duke.edu/http://www.sharksonline.net/http://cocoscatrescue.org/


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within the Sian Kaan Biosphere Reserve. By doing t

we hope the area will remain protected contributing

our millennium goal of environmental sustainability.

INTERNATIONAL WOMENS DAY GENDE

EQUALITY ENFORCEMENT

GVI introduced, on the 8thof March, the celebrations

International Womens Day to the children of t

ludoteca with the objective of expanding this concept

the childrens growing minds. The aim is to equip the

with knowledge of the importance of equal treatme

amongst genders and to show them examples renowned famous women around the world.

This year the theme for International Womens Day w

Inspiration for Change. In addition to fulfilling GVIs a

our implementing partners Save the Childrens objectiv

to empower the children, the recognition a

celebration is imperative for a developing Nation such

Mexico, which experiences the chasm between rights

law and in practice.

Sisters in the ludoteca ready to participate in empowering one

another.

The Playa team saw the opportunity with the ludoteca

illuminate womens rights for the children there throu

a presentation and an activity, to empower the girls an

Yellow Stingray (Urolophus jamaicensis).

Internally, Pez Maya staff and volunteers record all the

birds they see on a 30 minute daily birding transect, in

one of four locations, the mangrove mouth, the bridge,

the beach, and the road. 485 birds were spotted during

March, among which we were excited to see 11

American Flamingos, Roseate Spoonbills, Bare-throated

Tiger-herons, and Red-Vented Woodpeckers. Also this

month we said goodbye to our Yellow Throated Warbler,

who leaves around April but returns during December

each year, flying South to spend the winter in Pez Maya.

Yellow Throated Warbler (Setophaga dominica).

It is important to record and contribute our sightings in

Pez Maya to help raise awareness of the biodiversity


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inspire the boys by showing them examples of famous

inspirational women and apply these ideas to recognize

the inspirational women in their lives. The team had

intended to make a presentation explaining the purpose

of International Womens Day but one of the girls asked

if she could read it out loud. It was a perfect addition and

empowering on so many levels. The slides included a

number of inspirational women and the children were

very receptive and fascinated by them and their lives.

To reinforce the notion of inspirational women they

were asked to apply this to their own lives. They were

given a pre-prepared worksheet which was entitled My

inspiration is and why.Most of the children recognized

their care givers as the inspirational women in their lives,

sighting their grandmothers as their inspiration because

she loves and cares for them. This is not a surprising

result for Playa del Carmen where the chief childrens

issue is abandonment. Ludoteca was created against this

backdrop and extended family often provides a large

amount of childrens care whilst parents work. Some

other variations included their elder sisters, various

Disney princesses, teachers, and the ludotecarias.

This successful presentation and advocacy of this day has

inspired the GVI team to bring more international

themes to the ludoteca. The Playa team is hoping to

present on world book day and International Childrens

day amongst others.

Intern Naomi helping the kids with their inspirational women idea

XPLOR BRAVEST CHALLENGE

In January this year, 15 brave volunteers and staff

part in the Xplor bravest race, a 5 km local obstacle c

which we adopted as a challenge to raise funds for

local partners. They raised 775 pounds which has he

to provide daily drinkable water in the Colosio ludotec

the kids that attend it; it has also helped to buy a proje

for films and documentaries as well as to buy clea

products for them to work in a hygienic environm

https://www.justgiving.com/teams/xplorbravestrace

RECYCLING & FOOD PROGRAMME

We also started donating the recycling products prod

in the volunteers house to different families from

centers where we work in Playa del Carmen; w

exchange them for food vouchers from the Playa

Carmen municipality. So far we have donated 36 kgs p

kgs aluminum, 12 kg carton 12 kgs tetrapack.
https://www.justgiving.com/teams/xplorbravestracehttps://www.justgiving.com/teams/xplorbravestracehttps://www.justgiving.com/teams/xplorbravestrace


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For news, blogs, photos, and updates direct from

the field in Yucatan, Mexico follow:

FOLLOW GVI MEXICO

/GVIMexicoYucatan

@gvi_mexico

For more information on GVI and the projects inMexico visit:

www.gvi.co.uk

http://www.gvi.co.uk/programs/communit

y-development-internship-mexico

http://www.gvi.co.uk/programs/volunteer-

childcare-projects-mexico

http://www.gvi.co.uk/programs/veterinary

-project-mexico

http://www.gvi.co.uk/programs/marine-

conservation-expedition-mexico

TO LEARN MORE
http://www.gvi.co.uk/http://www.gvi.co.uk/http://www.gvi.co.uk/programs/community-development-internship-mexicohttp://www.gvi.co.uk/programs/community-development-internship-mexicohttp://www.gvi.co.uk/programs/community-development-internship-mexicohttp://www.gvi.co.uk/programs/community-development-internship-mexicohttp://www.gvi.co.uk/programs/community-development-internship-mexicohttp://www.gvi.co.uk/programs/volunteer-childcare-projects-mexicohttp://www.gvi.co.uk/programs/volunteer-childcare-projects-mexicohttp://www.gvi.co.uk/programs/volunteer-childcare-projects-mexicohttp://www.gvi.co.uk/programs/volunteer-childcare-projects-mexicohttp://www.gvi.co.uk/programs/volunteer-childcare-projects-mexicohttp://www.gvi.co.uk/programs/veterinary-project-mexicohttp://www.gvi.co.uk/programs/veterinary-project-mexicohttp://www.gvi.co.uk/programs/veterinary-project-mexicohttp://www.gvi.co.uk/programs/veterinary-project-mexicohttp://www.gvi.co.uk/programs/veterinary-project-mexicohttp://www.gvi.co.uk/programs/marine-conservation-expedition-mexicohttp://www.gvi.co.uk/programs/marine-conservation-expedition-mexicohttp://www.gvi.co.uk/programs/marine-conservation-expedition-mexicohttp://www.gvi.co.uk/programs/marine-conservation-expedition-mexicohttp://www.gvi.co.uk/programs/marine-conservation-expedition-mexicohttp://www.gvi.co.uk/programs/marine-conservation-expedition-mexicohttp://www.gvi.co.uk/programs/marine-conservation-expedition-mexicohttp://www.gvi.co.uk/programs/veterinary-project-mexicohttp://www.gvi.co.uk/programs/veterinary-project-mexicohttp://www.gvi.co.uk/programs/volunteer-childcare-projects-mexicohttp://www.gvi.co.uk/programs/volunteer-childcare-projects-mexicohttp://www.gvi.co.uk/programs/community-development-internship-mexicohttp://www.gvi.co.uk/programs/community-development-internship-mexicohttp://www.gvi.co.uk/

newsletter gvi mexico january-march 2014

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