Ayudanica offers a variety of ongoing classes, workshops and educational programs at our Community Learning Center (CLC) in Monte Rosa, Nicaragua, in which local community members may participate free of charge. These programs are developed during the pre-trip training program in a cooperative effort between U.S. student team members and Nicaraguan youth volunteer team members in Monte Rosa. The educational activities and programs are implemented during the two-week summer team visits and continued throughout the year by Nicaraguan teens volunteering at the CLC. People from more than 10 surrounding villages come to utilize the CLC's resources and to participate in Ayudanica's free educational programs.
Library Project
The Ayudanica Library is housed in the Community Learning Center (CLC) in Monte Rosa, Nicaragua. The library serves as the cornerstone of the learning center, where the Ayudanica staff offers a variety of educational programming and resources for people of all ages.
In 1997, the first Ayudanica team to visit Monte Rosa worked to convert a neglected and deteriorating community center into a thriving community library and education center. Since then, six Ayudanica teams have returned to Monte Rosa to add over 750 books, educational audio and video cassettes, maps, puzzles, games, arts and crafts supplies, and other educational resources to the library's offerings. More recent teams have been working to develop ways to attract more people to the library to make use of its many resources. The teams have implemented a variety of theme-related displays, interactive educational workshops, guest speakers, cultural presentations, and recreational opportunities that reach out to both readers and non-readers alike.
Educational Programs
Currently, the Ayudanica Community Learning Center (CLC) offers free educational programs and courses to the public in computer sciences, literacy, arts and crafts, modern and folkloric dance, basic drawing, knitting, and embroidery. These programs are managed by a full-time Project Administrator from the community and a volunteer committee comprised of local teens who are part of the Ayudanica Monte Rosa volunteer team.
Our goal is to diversify educational programs in an effort to attract a more diverse cross-section of the population to the CLC. Some of the ideas include photography displays and corresponding photography workshop and classes; culinary displays with a workshops that would lead to the creation of a local cookbook; and music displays, accompanied by a concert by local musicians and ongoing guitar lessons. Other programs would concentrate on technical training in areas that would significantly improve community members' chances of advancing educationally, economically and socially. A long-term goal is to provide technical education programs that would include training in fields such as electricity, woodworking, carpentry, automotive and bicycle maintenance/repair and hammock and craft making.
Library Story Hour and Literacy Program
 The Ayudanica U.S. Team has worked in cooperation with our Monte Rosa Team counterparts for the past three years to create and expand upon a library story hour program that is offered to children in Monte Rosa three days a week. The purpose of the program is to inspire a love of and appreciation for reading at a young age. Project Administrator, Miguel Alvarez Reyna, admitted during the 2001 team visit that the people of Monte Rosa are unfortunately "not in the habit of reading." If we are to succeed in our efforts to provide and promote educational opportunities in Monte Rosa we must start with providing not simply an ability to read, but a love of it. An important goal for the coming years is to provide pedagogical training of our story hour volunteer staff in Monte Rosa and supply them with improved resources.
Technology Program
The Ayudanica computer laboratory was established as part of the Community Learning Center in the summer of 1999, with the donation of four used computers and Spanish-language Microsoft software programs. That year student team members prepared the computers for use in the lab and developed a computerized indexing system to catalog new books and to allow users to search for books by title, author's name or category.
Since the computer lab's establishment, subsequent Ayudanica technology teams have worked with Nicaraguan volunteer teams in Monte Rosa to upgrade the hardware and software of the lab, while also creating educational programs that teach community members important technological skills that allow them to advance personally and professionally.
Ayudanica technology team members have developed a series of computer courses over the past four years, which are offered on an ongoing basis to children, teens and adults at the Community Learning Center in Monte Rosa. Courses are taught by teen volunteers from Monte Rosa, who received their training from Ayudanica U.S. student team members during their respective summer visits.
Ayudanica continues to expand and upgrade the technology resources and educational opportunities at our computer lab in Monte Rosa. During Ayudanica's recent visit to Monte Rosa in June, the 2003 technology team members added four donated computers with upgraded memory, Spanish-language software and networking capabilities to computer lab. In addition, the team equipped the lab with a small library of technology reference books, and a comprehensive set of courseware packages that provide lessons and exercises for teaching the use of Microsoft software products such as PowerPoint, Excel, Word, FrontPage, Windows, and XP.
Our current goals are to establish a wireless Internet system and develop interdisciplinary educational activities that connect the lab's computers to the activities of the library and story hour programs as well as the local elementary school's curriculum.
Future goals include building a new Community Learning Center facility and Ayudanica Technology Lab with improved teaching and workspace, as well as updated technology and related resources. Once the new computer lab is in place our next goal is to convert it into an officially recognized computer school where community members can earn a variety of technical training certifications.
Cultural Exchange Program
Ayudanica offers two forms of cultural exchange, a U.S. to Nicaragua exchange (summer trip) for U.S. volunteers and a Nicaragua to U.S. exchange (winter or spring) for Nicaraguan volunteers. As a compliment to the U.S. Team visit to Nicaragua in the summer, Ayudanica invites two to four student volunteer team members from Monte Rosa for a two-week visit to Philadelphia in the winter or spring.
During their stay in Philadelphia, our guests from Monte Rosa have an opportunity to experience, and gain a better understanding of, the culture and customs of life in the United States. Our Nicaraguan visitors spend time with their host families and the local team members exploring historically and culturally significant sites, visiting local schools, and taking in the arts and culture of the area.
The cultural exchange also provides the team with an opportunity to work directly with our Nicaraguan partners in planning and developing future educational programs to be implemented in Monte Rosa. Overall, it is a wonderful way to share our community, and to strengthen relationships between the people of Monte Rosa and Philadelphia. If you would like to help sponsor a Nicaraguan volunteer's visit, please contact us at info@ayudanica.org.
Scholarship Program
Ayudanica offers a scholarship program designed to reward Ayudanica team members from Monte Rosa, Nicaragua who demonstrate dedicated volunteer service to the project for two or more years. The program allows eligible Nicaraguan candidates to apply for either a high school or college scholarship equal to as many years as they have served Ayudanica in a volunteer capacity. The recipients are chosen by a selection committee comprised of team members from both Monte Rosa and Philadelphia. If you would like to help sponsor a Nicaraguan volunteer's scholarship, please contact us at info@ayudanica.org.
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