“One can enjoy the pleasure of reading when you do it together.” / “El placer de la lectura se disfruta mejor cuando se leen historias juntos.” – Peace Corps Colombia
Become a community economic development Volunteer in Colombia and help communities lift themselves. Apply today!
“This photo is one of my favorites,” says Peace Corps Response Volunteer Stanley, pictured bird-watching with the 5-year-old daughter of an Eco-Turismo guide in Colombia.
Just over a month ago, I finished my Peace Corps service in a peri-urban fishing community located 25 minutes north of Cartagena, Colombia.
I’m still thinking about scenes that I need to draw—the lime green cart filled with fritos surrounded by red plastic tables and chairs, the aggressive hat vendors in the Centro and the bustling, chaotic Bazurto Mercado. Cartagena continues to inspire me.
Throughout the last 27 months in Colombia, I documented my experience through a series of full-color illustrations and daily drawings. During training, before I knew much about Colombia, I began making collages of scenery from the beaches outside of Barranquilla, typical meals, and street scenes with kids riding bikes and playing soccer. However, on a trip back to the States, I discovered a set of Prismacolor markers that I hadn’t used since high school. The fuchsias, turquoises, and bright yellows reminded me of the colors I saw everyday in Cartagena, and I hadn’t realized the extent of their absence until I was once again surrounded by the calm blues, whites, and muted tones of a New England summer.
Peace Corps Colombia is hiring Primary Education Teacher Trainers to develop and apply established English language teaching principles in the classroom.
By this time next year, you could be starting your service as a Primary Education Teacher Trainer in Colombia. If you’re thinking of applying, try this hearty chicken and potato stew for encouragement:
In a large pot, place the chicken, corn, chicken bouillon, cilantro, scallions, garlic, salt and pepper. Add the water and bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium and cook for about 35 to 40 minutes, until chicken is cooked and tender. Remove the chicken and set aside.
Continue cooking the corn for 30 more minutes. Discard green onion and add red potatoes, white potatoes, and the guacas. Cook for 30 more minutes.
Uncover and add the frozen papa criolla and simmer for 15 to 20 minutes, season with salt and pepper.
Cut the chicken meat into small pieces and return to the pot. Serve the Ajiaco hot with capers and heavy cream on the side.
“This photo was taken while teaching at the Armadillo Foundation in Santa Marta, Colombia. It shows the children seated in the baseball diamond dirt listening intently on a lesson in English. Through this foundation, underprivileged children are given the opportunity to practice baseball and learn team building and other life skills required for cooperation amongst their peers. Teaching English has become a part of their curriculum since I started working with them this year. They have shown me the appreciation for education every day as they wait anxiously with a smile on their face. Playing baseball and learning English are sometimes the only things that these children have to look forward to each week. It’s truly been an eye opening experience.”
“Through art, I was able to show the complicated beauty of my Peace Corps site, a community struggling through cycles of poverty while trapped in the midst of a rich, booming tourism industry.” – “Documenting daily life in Colombia through illustration”
Girls learn to code in an after-school program in Colombia. #62MillionGirls don’t get that chance. #LetGirlsLearn
Peace Corps Director Carrie Hessler-Radelet is visiting Volunteers in Colombia this week. One of her stops was Fundación Marina Orth, where boys and girls learn coding and robotics. Here, 8- and 9-year-old girls show off their coding skills.
In my English conversation club, these 9th grade girls each wrote a paragraph describing important places in our community of Afro-Colombian fishing town. This photo portrays my students’ energy and the importance of the beach. My students understand the importance of English language skills in order to acquire more opportunities, seeing more and more tourists sprawled on the beach every day. These girls are the future female leaders of La Boquilla.
There are 81 volunteers in Colombia working with their communities on education projects. More than 4,790 Peace Corps volunteers have served in Colombia since the program was established in 1961. http://bit.ly/1CPolwz
