TO HONOR THEM – Volunteer teachers

Playlee Bogotá

This is the moment to honor our volunteers Javier Alejandro Alvarez y Natalia Perez Beltran, who, with their service make PLAYLEE possible.

This space was created to appreciate and encourage our volunteer educators; here we honor those volunteers that with their dedication and sacrifice have become educational reference points.  For those that perform pedagogical acts visibly embodied in the proactive formation of sensitive and critical beings, capable of engaging constructively in their fulfillment and in the creation of a better world.

Two days before we traveled to the United States as Youth Ambassadors 2014, we had a meeting with some ex YA who told us about their experiences and what we were going to do in the US. They explained something very important, what Youth Colombian Leaders is about. They informed us about many projects which are develop by YCL. They talked especially about PLAYLEE and it was interesting for us. I did not think to be a PlayLee’s volunteer because obviously I just was thinking about our trip.

When I came back to Colombia, I started thinking of project I was going to make and I got many ideas so I began to work with a partner in a project which was about Down’s syndrome but we had to stop because it did not work. Then, when I started 11° grade I nominated myself to be the Students representant of my school. Natalia Perez did the same thing and one of her design was starting an English project. So, I told her that we could make a PlayLee in the school and she agreed with me. However, either of both was chosen by the student but even so we could start the project. The main reason why we decided to start PlayLee is because we think the English language is very important nowadays and there are people who cannot pay an English course and they really want to learn, In addition, PlayLee is a different way to learn. Perhaps children do not like to sit and write down what the teacher say, that’s why we guess PlayLee is a voluntary project as well as a game to learn a new language.

We hope creating an impact not only in our school but also in our community. We want that the children who participate in PlayLee learn English but we also want they learn different aspects of the life, even though we are young people, we can teach them such as values, why volunteering is very important or how we as new generation can change the world and turn it into a better place. There is a quote by Mahatma Gandhi which summarizes what we wish to do. ‘’ We must be the change we wish to see in the world’’. This is our purpose.

In order to accomplish this goal, we have made some activities such as participate in the Global Youth Service Day; we made our first class and we met with the children’s parents to tell them what PlayLee is. We think is very important because they were so happy and excited, it means that we have support in the school and in their homes too. It is a process which needs help of many people and, luckily, we have it.

We are really proud to be part of the PlayLee staff.

TO HONOR THEM – Volunteer teachers

Playlee Quibdo (Choco)

This is the moment to honor our volunteer Juan Carlos Moreno Perea, who belongs to the playlee’s family (Quibdó-Chocó).

 

This space was created to appreciate and encourage our volunteer educators; here we honor those volunteers that with their dedication and sacrifice have become educational reference points.  For those that perform pedagogical acts visibly embodied in the proactive formation of sensitive and critical beings, capable of engaging constructively in their fulfillment and in the creation of a better world.

Juan Carlos has been involved in Youth Colombian Learders since 2014 when he was invited by the Coordinator Angie Katerine Palomeque to participate in this program.

Juan Carlos is a Mlk’s student, also studies English and French and as a playlee’s teacher has contributed to the development of the program in Quibdó – Chocó. Furthermore he and the rest of the Volunteers Guillermo, Angie, Sixta, Davinson, Edith, Duvan, Milfer and Leidy are together developing playlee in two conferences.

Then, with his participation in Playlee National Camp held Cali, he could learned and empowered all knowledge necessary to continue teaching to our children.

Also Juan Carlos had the opportunity the participated in the Global Youth Service Day in 2015.

• How did you get involve with the Playlee program?

In 2014, a volunteer Ayxa Chaverra decided to start the PLAYLEE Program in Quibdo city for the first time, but she needed more volunteers, because the idea was that a lot of children were beneficiaries, then The coordinator Angie Palomeque invited me to participated in this program and I accepted because I knew that it was a good way to teach English and because I wanted to contribute to the development of my community.

TO HONOR THEM – Volunteer teachers

PLAYLEE Bogota

This time we have the opportunity to honor our volunteer Maria Catalina Morales, who    with her enthusiasm makes PLAYLEE possible.

Maria Catalina has been involved in Youth Colombian Leaders since 2012 when she participated in Youth Ambassadors Program.
At first, she was a teacher in the first version of PLAYLEE Bogota, where Catalina had the chance to learn from her volunteer partners in order to become in 2014 the Bogota coordinator.
In the coordination, she had had the chance to lead the Global Dignity Day Bogota in 2014 and to organize nationality the Global Youth Service Day in 2015.
In addition, Maria Catalina, with the volunteer Angela Restrepo took the initiative to start the second version of PLAYLEE Bogota with a population of kids in “La Fundacion Encuentro con la Vida” the first semester of this year. Moreover, she led and participated in the training of new Bogota volunteers who started a second PLAYLEE Bogota in a school in Suba “Instituto Nueva América de Suba”.
Then, with her participation in Playlee National Camp held Cali, she became part of the staff who coordinate the new project “Playlee Talks” where each month she moderates and help the host city to do it.

Right now as a Youth Colombian Leader, she is part of the organization group of the IV Convention that will be hold in Armenia in August of this year.

• Why did you become a volunteer?
  Participating in Youth Ambassadors Program in 2012, I discover the YMCA and Youth Colombian Leaders, where I met awesome people who opened not just my eyes but my mind to see how many things I have and how many things God gave me; so I decide to became a volunteer in order to give back part of my knowledge and skills to the community. As the years pass I could see that I am not only giving back, but also I am changing lives and realities, and each day the world become a better place because in every country and city are someone doing volunteering because they believe as me that our society just need a little push to create a good new world.

• How did you get involve with the Playlee program?

In 2013, a volunteer Luisa Ramirez decided to start the PLAYLEE Program in Bogota for the first time, and then I joined her because I heard about the program, I realized that was a good way to teach English and because of that I decided to keep doing it as many times as possible in Bogota.

TO HONOR THEM – Volunteer teachers

 

PLAYLEE Pereira

This is the moment to honor our volunteerLina MaríaGrajales Moreno, who, with her service makes PLAYLEE possible.

 This space was created to appreciate and encourage our volunteer educators; here we honor those volunteers that with their dedication and sacrifice have become educational reference points.  For those that perform pedagogical acts visibly embodied in the proactive formation of sensitive and critical beings, capable of engaging constructively in their fulfillment and in the creation of a better world.

Lina Maria  has been involved with the Club YMCA Pereira for over 3 years. she has shown his willingness to serve others, to help and change the world.  She has been involved with the Pereira PLAYLEE program from the very beginning; she has devoted her time and effort for the program, giving always her best in each class and showing his commitment with Club YMCA Pereira ideal.  With time and effortshe has become an outstanding, committed, loving and persevering volunteer.

¿Whydid you become a YMCA volunteer?

I became a YMCA volunteer, because  after my participation in Youth Ambassadors  Program  2012 I realized that YMCA´s world had a lot of activitiesand programs   where  I could participate or being part of something really amazing. Being a volunteer opened my mind to the possibility of change andalso gave me an incredible opportunity for helping others, especially children, youth and the society who are involved in hard situations. Also because is a place where I can learn and see the simples and incredible things that life has to offer us every single minute. Being a volunteer is a blessing in my life.

¿What do you like to be a volunteer?

I love being a volunteer because I have discovered a new face in my life that have allowed me being opener, more generous and more focus on the things that surround me and also the people who are next to me. Being a volunteer has allowed me being different and loving what I do, because becoming a volunteer is being free and being happy at the same time, without any cost. I like being a volunteer because is the way of returning everything that God makes for me day by day.

¿How did you get involve with the Playlee program?

I discovered Playlee´s program, in Medellin in 2013 in the second convention of Youth Colombian Leaders, at that time I realized what the program was about and also in what places the program were performing it in the Colombia. So I wanted to get more involved in the YMCA of Risaralda´s projects and I did not found any project in which I was useful, for that reason I talked with another volunteer that was Youth Ambassador in 2011 and we started to bring Playlee to our city Pereira.

¿How do you think Playlee impacts the beneficiaries’ communities?

The Playlee’s impact at beneficiaries communities is huge, because the program is focus in the idea of making easier the English learning, in that process youth and children will love and will discover that English as a second language is the key that can open many doors, besides is a different education system that allows the kids to get involve in a funny and dynamic way, through games and songs.

¿What is your vision about playlee?

I want that Playlee gets to all the high Schools in Colombia, as a pedagogical way that can work with children and youth people too, with playlee children can really learn English in a better way without any cost, because money is one of the obstacles that parents cannot afford for paying English institutes. I believe that Playlee it could be the perfect Project that Colombia can use for getting bilingual people in a few years.

¿How did playlee started in Pereira?

Playlee started after a long process in which David and I wanted to participate in the Risaralda’s YMCA process, so we started to ask for information about the project and also we visited Armenia where we could see how was the work there, so on March 2014, we started the calling for all the children who lived near to the Risaralda’s YMCA and on march 28, eleven kids got to the first class of Playlee’s Pereira and with them we have worked until now.

¿What goals have you achieved with playlee?

Playlee has allowed me to discover a world full of adventure, has made me practiced my English and being part of the Project has helped me to improve my leadership skills also I’ve been more involve in the voluntarism, besides I have seen that becoming an English teacher is  a big opportunity to get to the children and youth people and be able to show them that there are more opportunities when you have a second language, for that reason  bilingual people have more chances to travel, study and work abroad.

¿What goals you expect to achieve with playlee?

With playlee I want to continue discovering a world full of amazing  adventures, I hope being able  to improve my skills in the pedagogical way of teaching a second language, with playlee I want to travel and get more children for teaching them that exists a way of discovering the world without any communication barrier.

I want to improve my skills focus on the children´s work, in recreation and also in work team to keep going on with Playlee in Colombia.