After a summer visit to Casa Hogar from Minnie Piffarerio, owner of Peak Performance Tutoring www.peaktutor.com she sent us the following message:
"I walked away with a desire to be part of and help your organization. I was so impressed by what you do and would love to see if we could contribute. We have a pool of wonderful High School students here locally at Niwot High School (https://nhs.svvsd.org/) that I think would be extremely capable of tutoring students at Casa Hogar. It would be a wonderful way for some of our volunteer student tutors to earn volunteer hours to complete their IB studies and help some students there at Casa Hogar at the same time."
This message sparked email exchange to coordinate our first Skype call.
For most students the key to learning English as a second language is conversational practice. But this can be awkward and intimidating if available at all.
Weekly Skype conversations have allowed 17-year-old Carlos Angel to practice in a comfortable and enjoyable setting; from the living room of his home in Casa Hogar de Cabo San Lucas.
Casa Hogar is a center for kids rescued from situations of abuse, neglect and abandonment. Currently home to 30-full time residents, as young as 5-years-old, Casa Hogar reinstates the basic rights of children and prepares them for family reintegration, adoption or successful independence as a young adult.
Carlos Angel’s weekly English sessions are hosted by Tessa, a student of Niwot High School. The teens choose a topic to discuss and in advance, prepare a series of questions to be shared both in English and in Spanish.
Topics have included holidays, traditions, sports, academics and pop culture.
The teens have demonstrated much interest in identifying cultural differences and similarities. This brings out plenty of smiles and laughter from both teens.
English is a valuable commodity in a tourist destination like Cabo San Lucas. Carlos Angel receives English classes in his local high school but conversing with a teen native-speaker trains his ear and provides an excellent opportunity to practice his speaking accent.
For Tessa, the video-chats allow her to practice her advanced Spanish, learned during a study-abroad program in Costa Rica.
With more than 1100 miles separating Niwot County from Cabo San Lucas, it’s refreshing to see how much teens from these two different cultures and life circumstances can have in common.
To support the work of Casa Hogar visit http://www.casahogarcabo.com/donate/. Your generous gift will provide children and youth in Casa Hogar opportunities for a brighter future. Join our family!
This is just what I was hoping would happen. For me, learning English is the most important thing the children can accomplish. Being able to converse in English almost guarantees a job after they leave the home. That, in addition to the love, mentoring and support they receive, will give each child the chance to succeed in life.