|
27 July 2010
Tell us a bit about yourself.
My name is Irma Jose Andres and I am 17 years old. I live in Ciudad Vieja, Sacatepequez but I was born in San Miguel Acatan in Huehuetenango. I have three brothers and one sister. Two of them are in the sixth grade and one is in the second grade. My mum’s name is Micaela and my dad’s name is Francisco.
I like to study and I like to have friends. I also participate in a church youth group. I consider myself to be a friendly person and I like to respect people. I like to meet new people each day and spend time with people that value who I am. I also like to teach people everything I know. I am generally a quiet person but I do also like to mess about. I rarely get angry. I like to go for a walk everyday but I don’t like to do exercise. I like to read to read and listen to music. I am a caring, happy, understanding, patient and intelligent person. I think that I am capable of doing anything that I put my mind to.
How does it feel to be Miss Esperanza? What does it mean to you?
It feels good because you get to represent the school and you are the main role model in the school. It is something that sometimes you can’t imagine being. It wasn’t easy to become Miss Esperanza but it’s not impossible. To achieve it, you must have the trust of everybody else and you must appreciate it from the start but when I need support from my classmates, they are always there for me.
What does education mean to you?
Education is a way of learning so many different things where one fills themselves with values. It teaches you to be a better person as well as things that will provide you with a better future, such as, English and Math.
What are you favourite classes and why?
My favourite class is English because I like the language a lot and it is spoken in other countries. It is a universal language. I like it probably because it is easy for me learn as I already speak another language, a Mayan language. I think it is easy for me and I think that it is a language that will give me many work opportunities.
What are your dreams for the future?
First I want to graduate as a bilingual secretary. Then I would maybe like to study a degree in Education or Secondary School Teacher because I would like to be able to teach people the things that I learn about each day. I would also like to teach people how I was taught. I would also like one day, when I have finished my studies, to have a family and be able to take care of them and give them the best. I would like to give them what my parents weren’t able to give to me. I would like a stable job and a job where I make a lot of Money I would like to have a big house with lots of space. If I have children, then I would like them to have something nice. I would like to travel to other countries and meet new people. That is why I want to study to be a bilingual secretary. I would like to be able to speak to people in another language and get to know them better. I would also like to see other parts of Guatemala that I don’t already know that are touristy. I want to visit places that existed in the past or Mayan and rivers, lakes and a lot of other places.
What other school activities do you participate in?
Well, I am the head student of my class. I am part of school student governing board and I am a teen leader with the organization WINGS for our school. I take part in this because I am a good role model for others.
I am a leader for Girls Workshops on Thursdays. I give classes that focus on Sex Education orientation and everything that is related to people. The classes consist of teaching them about self esteem, what is sexuality, sexual relations, myths about sex, pregnancies and miscarriages, ant contraceptives, family planning, relationships and so much more. I have ten girls that I work with and I like to work with them because they are girls that try hard. In the classes we give talks and do different activities, games, tests and competitions as well as other things that they enjoy. Our objective is to guide them and that they put into practice what they learn. To reach the objective I have to start with myself first so that they see me as an example. If they put everything into practice they will become a better person with a better future and they will have more opportunities to study. I like to spend time with them because I learn different things about them as they are all different. When we organise our sessions, we have meetings with the other leaders to discuss which topics we are going to talk about, what we want to achieve and we can do it in a way that will better guide the girls and make them put in to practice what they learn. I am guided by Sophie, who helps me and has lots of experiences and she shares that with the girls.
What do you like most about your school?
The thing I like most is my classmates. I like to spend time with them. I also like to learn new things in my classes. I like understanding new things in class. I like to meet the people that come from England, as many times, they help us in our English class and we learn a lot from them.
What are some of the biggest obstacles that students of “La Esperanza” face in their lives?
Many times the obstacles that they face are due to the poverty they live in and the fact that they don’t have things that they need so they need to work to be able to fill their needs. It is also hard because of the lack of motivation from their parents as well as their own because it can be difficult for them to be motivated on their own and carry on their studies.
What advice would you give to your classmates if they were thinking about leaving school?
I think that I would have to tell them to think about what they can really achieve if they study in the future and to think about how much money they could make and how they could leave poverty behind. They will able to do more than their parents did and they will achieve so much that many don’t have the opportunity. I think it is important to tell them about all of the good things that can happen in their future with education and about all of the difficult things that could happen without education. They would continue to live in poverty and they would have fewer things and less ways to provide for their children. They would be unable to provide better for their children and I think that it is important to provide a better future for the future generation so we need to work hard and think about our future.
Why do you think that it is important to have the Foundation’s support in Jocotenango?
The support is very necessary because in the Foundation there are people that do want to study and the families wouldn’t have the capacity to pay for their studies. In Jocotenango there is a lot of poverty and so families are not able to pay for their studies so the Foundation helps many children and teenagers so that they can have a better future.
What message would you give to people in England that support the Foundation?
Firstly, above all, I would like to thank them for the support that they have given the Foundation here in Jocotenango, really thank them. Because of their help, the students have dreams and goals. Thanks to their help people are studying and receiving an education and they will have a better future. I hope that they carry on supporting the foundation so that more children have a better education and there are more literate people. Thanks to god, Jocotenango is better.