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The Barlovento AMURTEL Community
Center is located two hours east of Caracas on three and a half
hectares of land. Now the second floor (160 square meters) is nearly
finished. The kitchen is done, a 135-meter-long security fence that
is two meters high was installed, and a walkway around the house has
been added.
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| Youth activities in the
center |
Library with computers at
the center |
The focus of the Center is to serve the impoverished rural villages
of Barlovento through education, health, agriculture and
cooperatives. Due to a legacy of slavery, poverty and unemployment,
most of the Afro-Venezuelan villagers suffer from low self esteem
and lack of opportunities to develop their potential. The Center’s programs
strive to develop community solidarity, to empower the people, and
to motivate, awaken and infuse positive values in the children and
youth.
Our volunteer from Canada, Alexa, returned home after six months but
was replaced by two other international volunteers: Kamala from
Brazil and Shiila from Wales. Tamsin from Australia paid a short
visit for Children’s Day, and became so inspired she has stayed and
worked full time for the last six months and wants to return soon
for another year.
In preparation for Children’s Day, July 16, Kamala regularly visited
four communities, teaching the children a theater play about the
sun, rain, rainbows and love, with the message that we are all one
human family. The kids took more and more responsibility in the
preparation of the play and a folklore dance, practicing on their
own and raising funds for the production by baking cakes and
organizing a raffle. “Buho” (the Owl), a theater group from the
Central University of Venezuela (UCV), was also brought and they
performed story telling on stilts in each village over a weekend.
After that, Kamala organized the youth of two communities into
regular drumming circles who built their instruments out of recycled
materials. They performed on October 12, Columbus Day, now renamed
as Indigenous Resistance Day.
Arelis (“Arunima”), a Venezuelan volunteer, organized another
theater group from UCV to stage big performances in four villages
with life size puppets about heroes. Because kids were not reading
the books in the Center’s library, Arelis started a reading and
writing program (“Lecto Escritura”) to awaken the kids’ interest.
Like Kamala, she is very creative and dynamic, developing their
reading and writing skills while explaining values through
cooperative games and stories. Most important of all, the volunteers
strive to make every child feel accepted and loved.
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| Volunteers
at the center |
Students
showing their collage works |
AMURTEL donated school materials to five public schools in the area.
Lisbeth, 16, was a good student in high school, but dropped out when
she became pregnant. Sadly her child died. When she expressed
interest to return to school, the Center advanced her the money she
needed to buy her uniforms and materials, which she later paid back
by doing cleaning and maintenance work in the center. She has just
successfully completed one semester.
Another high school dropout, Tony, 16, received money from AMURTEL
two years ago to attend a special Saturday program of remedial
classes but failed. This year he said he wanted to try again to
attend regular high school, but needed money. Didi agreed to help
him, but on the condition that he had to work for it. So on weekdays
he attends school and on weekends he does construction work at the
Center.
The mothers’ sewing cooperative has legally registered itself
(called “Riqui Riqui”). They received a new industrial sewing
machine that was donated by the Newcomers Club of Caracas.
Mandrita, who works for SINCOR, a company related to oil production,
convinced her employers to donate two computers and funding to the
Center.
The National Institute of Educative Cooperation (INCE) organized
courses at the AMURTEL Center about neem cultivation and worm
cultivation each weekend for a month, and 24 local people attended.
A one-week intensive computer course was given at the Center to
prepare two new trainers who will give courses to young people in
the communities. The National Organization for the Protection of
Children and Youth (LOPNA) gave a course on Pregnancy Prevention to
26 teenage girls. A drawing course, a cooking course, cake
decoration for mothers and adolescents, and Christmas folklore and
handicrafts was taught to several villages.
During these months the organic agriculture project has harvested
enough corn for a year’s consumption, plus vegetables and fruits.
The Center sells extra plantain and plantain flour, and passion
fruit jam.
A nutritional powder mixture is now being produced to aid
underweight children. Plantain flour is combined with the dried and
ground leaves of yucca, phira and drumstick. These packets are then
distributed to families with malnourished kids, with excellent
results.
Steve Baker, a friend of a friend, visited the Center and became so
inspired he has helped by finding a market for neem leaves. He has
sold 500 packets at a little less than $1 each. He also donated a
drier for the herbs, spare parts for the car and agriculture
machines that are hard to find.
After donating basketballs and volleyballs to the young people in
several of the villages, Daniel, the son of Hans and Judy Krause,
wrote to world-famous basketball star Michael Jordan, who sent
autographed photos and an inspirational message, “The Jumpman
Rules”, to the Barlovento basketball teams. Daniel then gave a
workshop for the youth of one community, explaining Jordan’s lessons
about the value of hard work and staying in school. Then the
community leaders repeated this workshop in other villages.
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Basketball-team-Caraquita |
Volleyball-team-Madre-Vieja |
In order to expand the Center’s services to the communities, a van
with four-wheel drive is desperately needed. The hard-working
volunteers also need regular allowance to cover their university
studies.
Because the schools are often dry and not inspiring, Arelis has also
started spending two mornings each week leading activities in the
classrooms, and sharing new activities with the teachers. She also
started staying part time at the Center and working with kids aged
10-14 in the different villages and meeting with the teachers.
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