Current Project:


First Step is currently looking for two volunteers to teach English in Ziquítaro Michoacán for the Winter semester (February – June 2010), the Fall semester (August – December 2010) or both. Volunteers will be teaching English classes to community members of all ages. Classes will take place both in the local public schools as well as in the town center. Volunteers are not required to have a teaching degree, although experience teaching is preferable. Basic Spanish proficiency is required. If you are interested in teaching these semesters or any semester in the future please email Rachel Miers at rachelmiers@gmail.com for more information and/or an application.





Current Fundraiser: Cookbook

Obtaining non-profit status is a slow process so in the meantime we are heading a few fundraising efforts in order to provide the volunteers with a living stipend as well as buy needed classroom materials. As part of a school project, some of English students worked together with Katherine Ferry and Rachel Wickland to compile a bilingual cookbook with some of their favorite recipes (about 15 in total). We are selling the book (which can be sent via email in PDF form) for $12 or I send you a hard copy for $16. All of the proceeds will go directly to the project in Mexico. If you would like to buy a cookbook you can email me your request at rachelmiers@gmail.com (note whether you would like the PDF or hard copy version). I will then give you the address to which you can send a check. Any extra donations are greatly appreciated! Thanks for your help and staying posted with the blog!

Town Profile

Location:
Ziquítaro is located in the central state of Michoacán, Mexico and is roughly one hour and a half driving distance from Michoacán’s capital - Morelia. Ziquítaro is considered a “rancheria” or ranch town as it is a small community which originally developed around a ranch. There is no official sign or paved off ramp for Ziquítaro just a dirt road turnoff on the side of the highway. Ziquítaro is located about 5 kilometers (three miles) away from the highway.

Commerce & Population:
With the exception of small family run convenience stores operated out of houses, Ziquítaro boasts no established commerce as employment opportunities are minimal. A majority of the town is dedicated to sustenance agricultural production. While many town members work in  the neighboring town six kilometers away, the majority choose to immigrate to the United States, their primary destinations being California and Texas. It is estimated that 2000- 3000 of the town's 4000 members are living and working in the US. Consequently, a large portion of family income is derived from remittances - the money sent from those working in the US. Due to this out-migration o Ziquítaro is inhabited primarily by women, children and the elderly.

Educational Opportunities:
Ziquítaro offers public schooling from kindergarten to junior high. The nearest high school is located a short bus ride away in a neighboring town. The junior high is a “tele-secundaria” literally translating to “TV junior high”.  This educational program, which began in 1968, was enacted as an attempt to bring enhanced educational opportunities to impoverished rural communities. The telesecundaria program uses minimal resources as lessons are imparted through televised lesson plans which are sent to the schools via satellite and shown to students with the guidance of a Procter. Junior high, and in many cases elementary school, is often the last formal education the town’s children receive as immigration becomes a viable and attractive possibility once a student turns 14.

Religion:
The majority of the town members are catholic thus allowing for the church to assume a central role in the community. The town’s priest, Manuel Vazquez Rubio, has been working in the community for two years and has enlivened the town with his religious sermons as well as his work and supportive presence in the community. Much activity and energy revolves around the town’s religious festivities which span from December to January. The importance of the festivities are reflected by the significant increase in town population; on average over 1000-1500 town members return from the US to visit family members and take part in the communal religious celebrations, causing the town’s population to nearly double.



Monday, December 8, 2008

Rachel Wickland's Thanksgiving Blog Post

I can say that without a doubt, this Thanksgiving holiday has been the most out of the ordinary of my life. Instead of waking up late, starting meal preparations with my Mom, watching football with Dad, sleeping off my full belly, and then going back for more food, Katherine and I worked. You see, contrary to the belief of some family members (which will remain nameless), Mexico does not celebrate Thanksgiving, or have an equivalent. Katherine and I questioned this lack of celebration however, as all of the teachers at the Secundaria decided to take vacation Wednesday and Thursday without warning. Who knows, maybe they too are enraptured with visions of turkey, stuffing, pilgrims, and Native Americans? All sarcasm aside, Katherine and I arrived at the Secundaria at the time of our scheduled classes. Two students showed up to my first class, and two showed up to my second class. Katherine had better luck with her classes as most of her kids came to class, however unprepared, unequipped with notebooks or pencils.

After our sparsely attended classes, Katherine and I hopped on the bus and took a little trip to the Bodega Arruera (an American-style supermarket owned and stocked by Wal-Mart—go global capitalism!). Preparations for our Mexican Thanksgiving dinner had begun. Soon after entering the grocery store, we were faced with the biggest decision of our day: frozen solid turkey, pre-packaged and pre-cooked turkey, or a chicken? After much debate, in the end Katherine and I decided that we could not defrost the turkey a la ice block, and that we did not trust a pre-packaged turkey undoubtedly filled with artificial preservatives. The chicken came out on top.

We had a lovely Thanksgiving dinner when we got back to Ziquitaro. Our guests were the Priest and the Doctor here in town. Katherine and I created a wonderful spread of deviled eggs, green salad, biscuits, roast chicken and vegetables, mashed potatoes, gravy, chocolate chip cookies, ice cream, and wine. It was a meal fit for a king…or rather two English teachers, a priest, and a doctor. At the end of the meal, our bellies were satisfied, as well as our nostalgia for family and friends on this truly American holiday.

To really close out this blog, I would like to post something I do every year, however, with a new perspective from here in Ziquitaro.

Reasons I Am Thankful:

1. I am thankful for a supportive and inspirational family. Not only do I have one family in the United States that fills my life with love and joy, Katherine and I have an amazing family here in Ziquitaro with the Mejias. They are fantastic people who have made our stay here incredibly comfortable, and taken us in as part of their own family.

2. I am thankful to be an American citizen. It is incredible the privilege and status one is granted by simply being born in the United States. I will never have to worry about applying for a visa to visit family, I will never have to immigrate for the necessity of finding employment, and I will never have to experience the stinging racism that goes along with being labeled a Mexican.

3. I am thankful for my education. Fortunately, I have received one of the most complete and quality forms of education in the world. However, I am daily faced with the reality that next year, most of my students will be ending the educational careers with nothing more than a Junior High School education. But please, do not make the mistake of assuming that this level of education would be equivalent to what we maintain in the United States. No, administrators who do not recognize the huge amount of responsibility they hold for giving these students a proper education have taught this level of education, and frankly, they could care less.

4. I am thankful that Katherine and I can be here in Ziquitaro teaching English. No matter what, all issues of immigration aside, it is pertinent for a person in this day and age to speak English. No matter if our students stay in Mexico, or decide to go abroad, because they have an understanding of the English language, they hold a key that will unlock many more opportunities for them that will perhaps help break the cycle of Ziquitaro as an uneducated town, with uneducated people.

5. I am thankful for my family and friends in the United States. Thank you all for supporting me and loving me. You know who you are. Without you, none of this would be possible. I think of you every day and I send all of my love.
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