If you were in the Bahia de Banderas (Banderas Bay)region during the past 6 weeks, you may have seen children of all ages walking to and from PEACE summer camps in their colorful PEACE t-shirts! This summer we piloted a summer camp with an educational emphasis in entrepreneurial skill development in seven schools in five villages with the goal of providing project-based learning opportunities at various levels to all of our summer campers.

The children ranged in age from 4 to 18 and the older campers were given the opportunity to develop and implement projects of interests emphasizing entrepreneurial skills that can be applied in both classroom and real world contexts. Some projects, such as developing a business model for a nail salon, allowed students to learn about the process of opening a small business in their communities and ways to achieve economic security in the future.

Many other classes and projects were carried out such as English and recycled art classes, beach clean-ups, bake sales, and environmental education projects. The volunteers who came to work with PEACE for six weeks this summer ran the classes and projects. Some of the younger campers made magnets from bottle caps and then sold them to make money to go to the movies, talk about entrepreneurial skills in action!

We are currently developing a new and very comprehensive curriculum for the 2009-2010 after school program which will allow students to learn about environmental problems and solutions, public and personal health, arts and culture, organic gardening and composting, ecology, cooking and nutrition, journalism, community service, oceanography, domestic and wild animals, and urban beautification. Through Casa Comunidad, we are able to provide students with a place to explore their interests and creativity while learning about important social, economic, and environmental issues relevant to their communities.

It is extremely important to PEACE that local students have the opportunity to explore their interests and engage in educational opportunities that are not provided in local public schools. In order to continue offering quality alternative education to local students we need your help! *For just $1.00 a day during the 2009-2010 school year, you can sponsor a student, thus opening doors and opportunities for underprivileged children. Email Molly Fisher at molly@peacemexico.org if you are interested in becoming a sponsor.

Source:
By Will F. Estes
The Sayulita Son