📸Take a deep look at APRIL

🏆 The podium belongs to UPH!

The Center for Child Psychomotor Stimulation (CEPI) in Copán Ruinas is one of the inclusion projects for children and youth who have learning barriers. They organized a fundraising marathon: "Running for Autism 2023" and invited UPCEL and UPH to participate.

First, second, and third place went to UPH community youth! Gerson Diaz, Miguel Rodriguez, and Selvin Diaz.

🌅 Youth Program Easter’s Day

We began  April enjoying the Easter holiday with the youth. We carry out two trainings focused on the topics: Public speaking and math tutorials, with the aim of equipping the facilitators for the work they will replicate in the AfterSchool camps. 

We also focused on enjoying and strengthening our local community. On the riverside, we had a delicious barbecue for lunch, swam and had fun playing. It was a spectacular day.

🏫 High-School visits

As part of the Youth Program holistic approach, we visit the high-schools that our youth attend. This is a good way to get involved with new participants of the program. We see how they develop in this environment, get to know their schedule, and we talk to most teachers about our youth. 

The school director kindly attended us, allowed us to take a tour of each classroom and offered the opportunity to be part of the Victoria camp specifically for the youth from the Rincón del Buey community.

We want the youth of the neighborhood where the camps are located to serve their own community.

🐂 Ricón del Buey community impacted

Our youth integration plan for the Rincón del Buey community was launched with the purpose that they lead the activities of the camp and that the locals who currently serve in Camp Victoria will be integrated into programs close to their neighborhoods.

This process will be carried out carefully, step by step. During April we integrated and trained 8 new youth who are learning everything related to camp responsibilities and how to lead playful activities with children. 

We visited their parents to explain the purpose of the program and the volunteer agreement in order to get them involved too.

💊Supporting local families

As we develop all youth and children activities we keep a heart open to the needs of their families. Mrs. Santos is the mother of one of our volunteer facilitators, Dania Castillo, she was diagnosed with osteoarthritis and needs to undergo a hip operation, however it is advised to get different medical diagnoses. 

We managed to get another opinion of an orthopedist to verify the diagnosis and the exams. The orientation was helpful and clarified all the concerns of the family. 

All total operations cost around 7,000 USD. The youth of UPH, along, with the family and friends of Mrs. Santos is planning on doing different fundraising activities.

💞 Camp Vida

• All the kids at Camp Vida are preparing a surprise for you! Yes, your, our supporting donors. Keep an eye out for a special envelope in your mailbox.

• Math and Spanish are important areas in our AfterSchool Camps, we assist the children by reinforcing their school knowledge, and of course, we do it while playing too. And as Jean Piaget says—on of our UPCEL fellows—“Boys and girls do not play to learn, but they learn because they are playing”.

• Camp Vida feels supported by the families in the community as we had 32 parents in attendance in our April meeting, daily we receive love and gratitude from them, for all the work that we do. One kid in particular Nisim Isaac, according to the testimony of his mother, has had a great glow up, he’s more active at home and even eager to do school homework.

• One way to thank the youth for their hard work at camps and at the same time encourage them, is through Team Time. One lovely activity we do is when we exchange letters where the youth take a moment to appreciate each other.

🎺 Camp Victoria

• Our youth leaders directed Mathematics and Spanish tutoring spaces according to the needs of each grade, first grade children reviewing numbers up to 20, second grade children 2-digit additions, third grade children multiplication tables, fourth grade children multiplication and division, children fifth and sixth minimum common multiple and greatest common factor.

• The teachers gave a very interactive art class on abstract pieces, teaching the children that everyone can aspire to be an artist and we should pursue it without any fear.

• We had our Team Tima at Elisa's house where we had our movie night! Also, each of the youth wrote a letter of affirmation for a partner.

• We surprised our kids with guitars! Shortly, a time of worship and praises was set up in which the children enjoyed dancing, singing and praising God.

💛 Camp Ágape

• A handful of mothers of our camp kids collaborated with our camp snacks. Once a week they prepare healthy and delicious snacks. As a thank you, the youth directors gave them a present affirming their work.

• A beautiful time of worship was led by our dear fellow Sara Mancia. The children enjoyed performing different choreographies in each of the songs prepared by Sara.

• We celebrated the birthdays of everyone from January through April with great fanfare, eating cake, and bags with sweets with the children.

• A meeting was held with the parents of Camp Ágape, with an attendance of 36 parents, this meeting was held to inform about the expectations we have in our camp and at the same time requesting their help in different activities that are carried out in the camp.

🥾 UrbanTrekkers

• To reward the youth for the great work they are doing at the AfterSchool camps and begin to enjoy the Easter holiday, we planned in the Copán River a lovely gathering among where we had lunch, we also swam and had fun with several puzzle games.

• Jorge Ramos—a renown archeologist of Copán Ruinas—guided us through the Ruins park and gave us a lesson about the ability of the Mayans to create art. Learned about the history of our city. It was an immense privilege to clear up doubts about the Mayan civilization with such an expert like Jorge.

• One of our goals at UrbanTrekkers is to gather Historical Perspective of our community, that is why we walked towards the “Stela 12” an ancient structure of the Mayan people.

• With the twelfth graders of the Dr. Jesús Núñez Chincilla Institute, we are developing leadership workshops, to equip them with tools/knowledge for their work, professional and personal life that they will have to face after finishing their high school.

• Together with the Youth Program, an initial retreat was planned with the objective of strengthening our community and thus being able to develop activities focused on the elements of our program, taking into account the spiritual area. A visit was made to Macaw Mountain where they were able to learn about different species of birds, especially about our national bird; the scarlet macaw.

One more goal to go 🏁