In 2009, I decided to try something new and join about a dozen other people on a Willow Creek Community Church short term mission trip to the Foundation for His Ministry mission in Vicente Guerrero, Baja California Mexico. Our team flew into San Diego on a Saturday, rented a couple of cargo-type vans and drove the 200 or so miles south through Baja on Sunday morning. Roughly 80 children from infants to age eighteen reside at the facility, which also provides numerous social services throughout the area. On the property, there is a school for students in grades 1-6 serving the children of the staff at the mission as well as those who live there. It was a memorable and fulfilling week, and shortly after my departure I began thinking, "hmmm, I wonder if I could bring Junior Achievement to that school?"
The school at the mission is in a fairly new building, but the classrooms themselves are pretty spartan. The students start around 9:00AM each morning and go until 12:30PM; there is a half an hour break at 10:30AM. The students seem to work more independently there than in American schools - whether or not that is a good thing is up for discussion. In the afternoon, some students opt to take elective classes.
Whenever starting a project such as this, one has to consider where to start. I decided to begin on the JA front to check and see if I could get the material. From my days at HSBC, I knew some people at the worldwide office in Colorado Springs, so I connected with them. They in turn hooked me up with JA in Mexico, known as IMPULSA there. Ultimately, I worked with the Director (President) of IMPULSA and his key staff person in Mexicali to confirm that they would be able to send me materials for all six grades for about $500 plus shipping. Volunteers in the US receive the material for free, but there is a cost attached to create it, and it is often paid for by corporations or other donations. So in addition to volunteering to do the classes at FFHM, I was essentially serving as their "corporate sponsor" as well.
Upon confirmation that I could receive the material, I inquired with the organization to see if I could deliver the programs at the school. Fortunately, the school's administrator knew of Junior Achievement and was more than happy to have the program at her school. My primary contact at the school was (and to date still is) Marie, who serves as the school's English teacher. Working with Marie, I developed a plan and set up a schedule for delivering all the JA programs to each of the six grades at the school. Since the students are in session from 9-12;30, with a 1/2 hour recess break, I determined that I would need another bilingual assistant to deliver lessons to two of the six grades. Marie also noted that the students may view it as unusual for two Spanish speaking Americans to present classes that include numerous discussions on life and culture in Mexico. I totally understood what she was saying; I would have a difficult time having someone from Mexico come and tell me about life in the United States, so certainly the reverse holds true as well. So somehow, I needed to overcome that obstacle.
My team had a couple of bilingual volunteers so I decided to enlist their assistance. Lara, who had just finished her junior year at Purdue with a minor in Spanish would be my Grade 1 and 2 teacher and Alex, who was completing his junior year in high school would provide classroom support to both of us. Alex's family is from Mexico and he is a first generation American who speaks a lot of Spanish in his household. He helped to give both Lara and I the "credibility" that we lacked as native Americans in a Mexican class - the kids loved him and he was a tremendous help floating from classroom to classroom.
The kids did great and seemed to learn a lot. Lara covered the first and second grade classes in the morning before the break while I presented to the fifth and sixth grade students. After the recess, I returned to present JA to the third and fourth grades. Afternoons were spent preparing lessons and materials for the following day. The prep for these classes took longer than what I ordinarily spend in the US, but since this was the first time I had presented Junior Achievement in Spanish from a Spanish text, it was to be expected.
As the week progressed, the students seemed to get more and more involved in the lessons and concepts. For most all of them, it was the first time they had discussed careers, personal finance and business in school. Some of the students had to make presentations to the class on topics we talked about - they did quite well. As the week came to a close, I felt that the children had experienced both fun and gained some good knowledge, but still was not entirely sure. Then on the last day after handing out the certificates that the students receive on completing the program, one of the fifth graders asked, "When are you coming back?" Those five words were all the confirmation I needed. JA would be back at FFHM next year and I would present the program along with other volunteers once again in 2010. Little did I realize that that time what I would end up taking on. More to follow in my next blog about JA and "Global Connections" at FFHM.
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