sylva rotary 02/06/2014
DESCRIPTION
Kenia AlvarezTRANSCRIPT
My Name Is Kenia
Hola, I am Kenia Alvarez
I am a teacher in rural western Panama
I teach 23 children in a one-room school
I have grades 1-6 My school is very
remote
It can be difficult to get to my school
In Panama, it rains a lot
The road gets very muddy
Sometimes almost impassable
My school is far from my home
I live in the coastal town of Los Remedios
My school in El Banco is in the mountains far away
It is a long trip to school
On Sunday afternoon I take two buses for three hours to get to the town nearest to the school
Then I walk for an hour and a half up the Mountain road
I live at my school during the week
I live in one room The school is very
remote, and it is very dark and quiet at night
I am there five nights each week
It is a little primitive
When I started here, there was no electricity
There was only one water spigot for washing
The school had an out house for me and the students
My Inspiration
My father is an educator
He inspired me to become a teacher...
...and to become the best teacher that I can be
Academic performance
My students perform well compared to other students across Panama
Panama evaluates students on a scale from 1-5
My students perform within a range from 3.9 – 5.0
Academics
El Banco students have participated in contests in
Poetry, oratory, debate
Spelling, writing, and reading comprehension
Overall Performance
My students show more academic development than normal, and that has brought me positive attention
Other activities
I also work to include students in a variety of activities such as observance of national holidays
Here some girls are dressed in traditional festival costumes
Enhancement
Students wore costumes for this special activity
We called it “Dia Civil”
My School is in a very poor community
It is difficult for parents to make a living here, much less support their students in school
Mentor in community
As one of the only educated people living in the community, I am often called upon to be of assistance to families or citizen groups as issues arise.
Other roles
I am not only the teacher, but at times the secretary, and other times a nurse, as needed.
Local ladies come daily to prepare lunches for the children, so I do not have to be the cook.
Minimal Materials
As a remote school, we get very little support from the Ministry of Education
I bring materials, frequently that I have bought, and present them to the students...
Student School Supplies
...then the students copy the information into their little “cuardernos” – or notebooks. These cuardernos were supplied by Club Rotario de Boquete.
The first “connection” with Rotary
A few years ago, Hector Sanchez, a member of Club Rotario de Boquete, who owns a farm near our school, would drive by and he noticed that the power lines ran along the road...
Electricity comes to El Banco
...but they were not connected to the school. Hector undertook the initiative to get the power connected to our school.
First step to real “connection”
When Hector later wanted the Internet at his farm, he agreed to place a relay tower on his property – IF the company would supply free Internet access to my school!
Now we are really connected
In less than a year, we went from a school without electricity, to a school with active Internet access.
Workshops Rotary also made it
possible for me to attend two valuable workshops. One was about teaching read-ing comprehension.
The other was especially for multi-grade teachers in Panama City.
International Help
In 2008, a group sponsored by the Sylva Rotary Club of North Carolina came to my little part of Panama to help rebuild a kitchen and dining facility...
The termites were winning
...that were on the verge of collapse due to termite damage.
Doing it right
This time, a concrete foundation was built with steel floor joists...
Professors and students from WCU
...and the rest of the structure, above ground, was built with wood.
A true group effort
Many of the volunteers had never built anything before...
These guys worked fast!
...but fortunately some of them had.
The group from NC worked really hard and fast to build the entire structure in three days.
There were medical personnel with the group
The doctors and nurses conducted medical screenings of my students and any parents who wanted to come.
There were other activities too
I
Some of the younger students did creative and playful things with our children while their parents were waiting to see the doctors.
And there were productive activities
There was painting, circle games, and the children could even get their hair cut.
In the end...
...it was great fun, and the community will never forget that visit!
From Chiriqui to Cherokee
And of course, it was the Rotary Clubs of western North Carolina and Panama that made it possible for me to come and visit here in 2012.
It was a very busy 4 weeks!
15 SchoolsWCU & NCCAT2 SCC Campuses2 Churches6 Rotary Organizations
Over 50 Presentations
I visited elementary students
I Spoke to Middle School Students
Participated in High School Spanish Classes
Told my story to college students
Visited many Rotary Clubs
And received some “Good Press”
I was very excited about the opportunity I had to visit North Carolina: to be in your schools, to see places I had never seen before, to do things that I had never experienced before. I hoped to gain perspectives that I could take back to my students in Panama, that would help them to see and understand the larger world around them...
...the ultimate purpose
...and to give them excitement about venturing further in their own lives.
But Wait!That’s not the end of the story!
Thanks to The Rotary Foundation, District 7670, Franklin, Sylva, Cashiers,
and the Boquete Rotary Clubs a Matching Grant was awarded to:
Build bathrooms for the students and the teacher at my school as well as provide solar energy for a school more remote
than mine (45 minutes by boat).
From This
To This
And This
And From This
And This
To This
And at Tierra Oscura This Solar Power
Allowed Computers and Internet for the First Time
This Journey 2 Years LaterHas Also Brought Me
Some New Adventures
Like Visiting Washington, DC
Making Snow Angels
Attending a Robbie Burns Dinner
Flying in a Small Piper Cub
AndOf Course
What Happenedin Florida?
Stays in Florida!
Rotary and Rotarians are Very Important In My Life
They have allowed me to see and do things I might never have experienced
It has made me a better teacher
Rotary and Rotarians are Very Big In My Life
Most importantly it has made big and positive changes in
the lives of my students