Title of Position: English Teacher

Length of Committment: 1 to 2 years

Work Responsibilities:8 hours daily, 5 days a week, for ONE YEAR (minimum, length of stay can be extended).

Overview: Volunteer/Intern will be responsible for developing curriculum and teaching to children in the Alternative Education Center at UPAVIM. The volunteer would teach in the "Montessori I" program (25 children ages 3-5) and the school (Montessori Method-Based) Elementary School, 1st-5th graders (ages 6-11). As time allows, the volunteer may also teach youth and women.Rolling applications.

Compensation: Housing in the UPAVIM Building and lunches m-f, possible stipend of $100/month (Food costs under $100 month, or less, depending on what you like to eat).

School Credit: UPAVIM will work with students and university administration to develop a plan for those who want to receive school credit.

Required Qualifications: At least an intermediate level of spoken and written spanish; formal training in teaching English as a second language. Ability to live and work effectively in an impoverished urban area. ABILITY TO COMMIT TO PROJECT FOR ONE YEAR.

Desired Qualifications: Experience in community service in impoverished areas; experience working with children; experience working with Latino communities

Application Process: Please email a letter of introduction and intent with a resume to upavim@itelgua.com, Subject Line: English Teacher Application

Brief Description of Location, Organization, and Programs

UPAVIM (Unidas Para Vivir Mejor, or United to Live Better) is a women's cooperative that began twelve years ago in La Esperanza. The community itself came into being in the mid-1980's as a squatter's settlement on the outskirts of Guatemala City. The population of approximately 5,000 inhabitants is composed of families who cannot afford housing in the city and indigenous Mayas who fled the physical and economic violence of the 36 year Civil War. People living in this community face many poverty-related issues: illiteracy, unemployment, under-employment, malnutrition (child and adult), lack of health education and care, alcoholism, spousal and child abuse, lack of sufficient education for children, drug abuse, crime, and gang activity. Situated on what was once a city dump, La Esperanza receives very few services from the national or municipal governments. International funding with labor provided by local residents brought sewers, paved streets, and potable water to the community in the early-1990's. Many houses are constructed of sheet metal, scrap wood or cardboard, though a number of UPAVIM women, due to their employment with UPAVIM, have been able to build houses of concrete block.

The cooperative now consists of more than 60 women from the area, working todevelop and maintain projects that address poverty-related needs. In 1992, UPAVIM built a 3 story building to house its programs and volunteers and is currently completing the construction of a second building. Funds generated from crafts UPAVIMAs make and sell to the United States and Canada support a Montessori day care, pre-school, and elementary school; other UPAVIM programs include subsidized medical and dental clinics, infant weight monitoring program, a breast-feeding advocacy program, and a tutoring program staffed by international volunteers. The new building will house the following programs: a bakery, a soy products factory, the tutoring program, a computer training program, and a Montessori elementary school that will add a grade every year until sixth grade.

Centro Infantil (which encompasses the nursery, pre-school, and elementary school) is entirely funded by the crafts produced by women at UPAVIM, and entirely staffed by women from this community who have received intensive training in the Montessori teaching method. The goal of the school is to provide quality education at very low cost for children who would otherwise have no opportunity for it. The program began 10 years ago and has grown as children enter a new grade every year. As a solid grasp of the English language is becoming increasing important for success in the Guatemalan education system and beyond, a solid early exposure to it is imperative for the children of Centro Infantil. We need someone committed to teaching and to establishing a program that can be carried on after his or her departure.

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