Teen Life Projects

In Codeni we are proud to have an ever-growing group of teenagers and youth that are willing to continue with individual projects and goals, with the tools and skills they have been developing with us throughout their childhoods. These projects are focused in social as well as educational areas of each individual’s life.
Youth in street situations are exposed to multiple risks during adolescence, due largely to the context of poverty in which they live. The areas in which they grow up are permeated by violence, gangs, and a high rate of narcotic sales and consumption. They further tend to lack the presence of law enforcement figures and social development programs.

CODENI’s new program called "Life Projects" was initiated to build on workshops of rights and responsibilities. Our team of educators serves as a support structure to empower our teens along the paths they have planned to leave the streets.
Thus we are proposing a new journey with our youth in which we will accompany them as they plan projects and recognize the resources available to each of them to achieve their goals. We are optimistic that our youth will be successful in their "Life Projects," as they are already armed with knowledge and skills from the many formative and preventive workshops in which they have participated in CODENI.
Congratulations to our teens for beginning this new stage with us and for their initiative to continue growing with CODENI!

Myriam Godínez, psychologist

Ahala in the Rotary district 7570 Newsletter!!!!

For more information and the complete Newsletter, please visit: http://www.rotary7570.org/

Click on the image for a bigger letter size.

My experience as a volunteer in CODENI: Samaria Alonso Orozco

For as long as I can remember, I’ve been a strong believer in God, and I attribute my estancia in CODENI to him. After all, life leads us where we need to be.

I entered college by chance. When I decided to apply it was already April and there were not many options left. “I fell” into the ITESO. In the first days, I attended a presentation of different options where students could volunteer through the ITESO. I thought maybe I’d find something there that interested me or that I could find a way to go to the Sierra Tarahumara, something that has always been a dream of mine. A trip to the Sierra was not meant to happen at this point in my life. I watched the presentations of different volunteer opportunities, but none called my attention, until I saw one that was focused on education (something I’m passionate about): it was CODENI.

At first, I was really scared, because I didn’t know how the children would respond to me. I didn’t know if they’d like me. But we can’t be guided by fear and need to approach new experiences with a smile.

Nine months have passed, and since then, I’ve enjoyed CODENI one Monday after the next. If it were possible, I’d write several pages about my experiences with the kids in Casa CODENI, my random encounters with them in the nearby park, their heart-warming smiles, and when they share stories about their daily lives, some of which break my heart and others that leave me cracking up.

How could I ever forget their little faces? (At the moment I’m imagining them) Perhaps I forget their names at times, or I mix one of them up with another, but seriously, I really care about them now, more than I can express in words.

“Maira, maira!” how sweet it sounds coming from them. And the thing is that it’s not just about going to help them with their homework, or the workshops, or to play with them. For me it has turned into an experience of growing together. I feel like a part of their lives y they are a part of mine.

When I speak about them, a smile automatically appears on my face; whatever may be bothering me on a given Monday, is immediately forgotten when I’m with them. I know that for the time being, I couldn’t imagine my life without CODENI.

Samaria Alonso Orozco

2nd Semester student in International Relations at the ITESO University

Volunteer in Círculo CODENI

Celebrating our moms in CODENI

Celebrating our moms in CODENI

On Saturday, May 14th, we celebrated Mother’s Day with a delicious cookout in the Metropolitan Park.

Congratulations to our moms!

Reading Workshop begins in CODENI

On Friday May 13, 2011, in the area of Academic Support, we began a new reading workshop. In CODENI we recognize strong reading skills as a fundamental ability for the development of our children and adolescents.

The workshop is organized between our volunteer Samaria Alonso and the coordinator of the area of education, Martín López Espíritu. The objective of the workshop is to promote the love of reading and simultaneously improve comprehension, fluidity and speed reading. To accomplish this objective, each participant in the workshop selects books from our library that he or she wants to read.

The participants were enthusiastic and chose stories such as “Snow White” and “The Adventures of Tom Sawyer,” which they took home to read and share with their families and shared the stories with the group in the following workshop.

The workshop includes different activities such as story-telling, stories with pictures and group reading dynamics, with the intention of drawing our children and adolescents to the library and transforming the activity of reading from an responsibility to a pleasure.

Psic. Martín López Espíritu

Coordinator de Education

SEMINAR INVITATION, RIO DE JANEIRO

We are honored to invite you to this seminar in which CODENI will participate in Rio de Janeiro on April 28th.

So far in 2011...

The number of children attending daily activities in Casa CODENI continues to grow. We currently have 107 children and teens who attend the homework help club, workshops and recreational activities. The children are divided into different age groups to offer activities specific to their abilities and interests. Every morning and afternoon the building is filled with children anxious to learn, play and take advantage of CODENI's programs, making progress towards reaching their dreams of a life outside poverty.

We are currently designing a new reading room and preparing to incorporate the computer lab into the tutoring program to inspire the love of reading among our children, most of whom come from homes without a single book and mothers who were never given the opportunity to attend school.