Training days for parents and teachers in Colombia

The parents and teachers of the children enrolled at our Centro Educativo Cristiano School in Guacamayal, Colombia, were thrilled to have the opportunity recently to attend a two day training session with two experienced teachers from a neighbouring town.

Guacamayal, like many areas in Colombia, is steeped in poverty and the children’s home lives are often very difficult. 42 of the children at our school had been displaying behavioural problems and learning difficulties, and their parents were keen to understand what the underlying problems were.

Throughout the two days Loyda and Joselina spent time with the group looking at patterns of behaviour and ways they could improve their relationships with the children. They helped the teachers develop methods for identifying signs of underlying problems and ways to continue their observations as the children move into different grades with new teachers each year.

On the second day Loyda, also a trained psychologist, discussed with the parents how to recognise difficulties with the children at home while Joselina entertained the children, teaching them biblical histories and playing games.

The training session was the first of its kind for our school in Guacamayal and the teachers, along with 20 parents, found the two days extremely useful. They are hopeful it will help them to solve problems quicker and be of great benefit to the children in the future, and we are thrilled that the parents and teachers were so keen to take part.