15/05/2013 Playa Del Carmen Immersion into the Community projects in Playa del Carmen

GVIs new community projects in Playa del Carmen have finally started working and so far they have been successful receiving volunteers from all over the world to help out in the different activities. At the childcare project we work at the Ludoteca (toy library), which is situated in an impoverished area of Playa Del Carmen (commonly known as Colosio). It is common for the children that live in the Colosio to be left alone when their parents or caretakers are out making a living. Therefore the Ludoteca is a free space designed to give these children a place to go, learn and interact with others. Save the Children has trained ladies from the communities (Ludotecarias) to run the activities in these spaces; they schedule activities each day focusing on a particular topic for the day and a value such as love, respect or caring for the environment, etc. However, at times the Ludotecarias are understaffed and pushed for time and resources, which is where GVI has stepped in to support the m and to help with the different activities they need to run. Besides the daily running and cleaning of the centre the interns and volunteers have extended themselves to cleaning fans, painting walls and taking activities home to prepare for following classes. One of the biggest highlights so far was the celebration of Childrens day in Mexico, on April 30th , where they had a big party with games and activities for all the children
Figure 1 Working on an art project

in the ludoteca.

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Figure 2 Celebrating children's day at the Ludoteca

At the Healthcare project we participate helping out at a special needs school, as well as at the horse and music therapy. At the Special Needs School we have been supporting the staff with the daily running, which has allowed the staff to focus more on the activities they are trying to run. We completed a traffic project in which we made a car and some street signs, which enabled the students to practice road rules and learn road safety. The children loved the project and learnt quickly from its messages. We have also been selling donated jeans, which is a great fundraising opportunity that is providing funding for the school to purchase any needed materials or equipment.

Figure 3 Teaching children ab out road rules

This first month in the childcare and healthcare projects has given us a solid base to build from and countless avenues to improve on. Most importantly we have immersed ourselves into the projects helping with the daily running and started new projects of own. The involvement of GVI in these community projects has enabled us to be a huge support to our partner organizations, the children involved and the community at large. If you would like to know more about these projects http://www.gvi.co.uk/programs/volunteer-childcare-projects-mexico http://www.gvi.co.uk/programs/volunteer-health-project-mexico visit

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