Mexico City Life Center
We had prepared to take an English/Computer Teaching team to Lebanon last month, but due to the escalating violence there, we diverted to Mexico City where we are helping our local partners.
Some country facts:
Mexico has 126 Million Souls
60% of the population struggle with poverty. In Mexico City, it is 80%.
Amerindian population is 9.4%, but face discrimination and greater poverty.
It is 78% Catholic, 11% Other, 11% Protestant/Evangelical
About 33% of the population is under age 15 and of that age group, 11 million work jobs.
There are close to 300 different languages spoken aside from Spanish, the dominant language
Our Teaching Team conducted English and Computer Classes where we had about 90 total students at all our sessions for the week. Each session ended in our Spiritual discussion classes where we share more directly about faith topics such as forgiveness or compassion.
Computer Class
English as Second Language (ESL)
We were touched at the end by how grateful they were to learn these practical skills. One woman kept crying as she shared how she was always told that she was stupid and would never learn - sometimes by her own children. The team patiently taught her English and basic Computer skills - sometimes one on one. In the end, we gave out certificates of participation and she was so happy as she never went to school and had never received anything that acknowledged that she learned something.
Computer Class Graduation
Our last class every night was the Character and Leadership Class. We had developed this Life Center curriculum to share Biblical principles in life, work or business settings. Our topics were on Generosity, Showing Integrity, Forgiveness, and Love. These classes require a lot of interaction and it wasn't just the team teaching, but also the participants sharing their experiences with each other. It was encouraging to hear the hearts of the people as they shared within their own contexts on the different topics.
Character and Leadership Class