YCI – thanks for your help

We have partnered with Youth Challenge International, Inc., (http://www.yci.org/), an international youth development organization, to get volunteers to work at our center. We had 4 wonderful, intelligent humanitarians for six weeks at the center, teaching the kids and teachers. They resided in the neighborhood, mingled in the community, got to know the residents, and conducting workshops for teenagers and mothers. They are Miss Catherine Torelli (Canada), Miss Maralyne Narayan(Canada), Miss Jessica O’Reilly (Canada) and Miss Luz Erandi Diaz Qvinones (Mexico).

Below are responses from the Volunteers

Catherine Torelli

This summer I was fortunate to have had the most amazing experience thus far in my life. Teaching at the Lusignan Good Hope Learning Centre taught me so much about myself as well as the people in the communities. During my first day teaching at the centre, I was greeted with kindness. The students made me feel welcome in a country so far from my home, which I really appreciate. Moreover, these students are intelligent and eager to learn. After teaching in schools back home, the students of Lusignan Good Hope Learning Centre were a breath of fresh air. While the students demonstrated a strong desire to pursue their own education, it did not stop them from helping their peers if he/she were having trouble with the subject being taught. I noticed that the students had developed a strong bond and truly cared about one another. While these students are bright and willing to make an effort, the school seems to have insufficient funding in order to provide students with the tools necessary to do so. This is not to say that the school isn’t doing good within the communities, because it is. The Lusignan Good Hope Learning Centre is providing the children and young adults of Lusignan and Good Hope with the help needed to pursue future ambitions. However more income would help the centre give students an even better education then it already has.

Jessica O’Reily

My name is Jessica O’Reilly, and I was a volunteer with the organization Youth Challenge International. I volunteered for five weeks in Lusignan, Guyana at the Lusignan Good Hope Learning Centre. While on project, I taught an array of subjects. I assisted in teaching Mathematics, Grammar and Spelling, English, Geography, as well as lead Gender workshops for the female students. In these workshops we discussed healthy relationships, HIV/AIDS awareness, self esteem and confidence, as well as giving the students an open forum and a safe environment to ask questions about any topics. I also assisted the children in learning the alphabet, including vowels and consonants and letter sounds by using computers in the afternoons.

I had an amazing, unforgettable experience with the students, as well as the teaching staff. The students have incredible stories of adversities, but as well as perseverance. These bright, beautiful children have courage, strength, and knowledge on life. I not only taught these students, but I learnt from them. Listening to their stories, and their motivations create humility and gratitude within myself.

I am forever humbled by this experience, and hope to return to continue improving the lives and experiences of the children in the surrounding areas of the Lusignan Good Hope Learning Centre.

I am extremely proud of all the students and the Learning Centre for all they have accomplished thus far. I expect great things from all the students, as well as the teaching staff from the Lusignan Good Hope Learning Centre.

Maralyne Narayan

Snakes, spider, centipedes, outhouses and unending humid heat Oh My! Everyday in Guyana is at the same time laid back and wildly exciting. Coming to my ancestral home was incredible, I felt a deep connection to my family and a deeper understanding of myself but no inner peace can ever quite prepare you for snake killing or red ant attacks or centipede invasions. Every strange encounter with nature though was part of the fun, especially since no one ever got really hurt hahaha. It was all a reminder that Guyana is alive, it’s a rainforest on an ocean, there are few places on earth that afford so much life in such a small area. Perhaps this influences the culture as well, making people more a acutely aware of danger but also of the potential for change. I think it was the people and the culture at the end of the day that really made my experience a constantly positive and educational.

For five weeks in the summer of 2013 Guyana was where I was meant to be and the work was work I was meant to do. I have no doubt about that. Emotionally and physically exhausted I was useful and learned that this is happiness. I believe that my sense of satisfaction in my work came from those around me, from the teachers, to the families and perhaps most importantly from the kids who in one minute can speak of the suicide of a friend or brother and still be hopeful and strong the next. These kids are like all kids, mischievous, wild, hilarious and full of potential and that potential is what we were working to bring to the forefront. The hardest thing to acknowledge is that for many potential has been buried under poverty and the allure of fast cash but it is there, it will always be there and no government, economy or oppression can take it. But that does not mean that change come immediately. You can’t expect that, change is gradual and internal and often not what we expect so it’s hard to measure. What makes the experience is not a measurable achievement but simply human connections. Connections influence choice and open up new opportunities. People have the strength and capacity for change but it is only with support and openness that that change will ever come to fruition. And I can honestly say that the connection I made in Guyana not only made education for kids possible but will endure and continue to influence me and the people I worked with.