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Where does Colegio Paulino Salgado work:
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Colegio Paulino Salgado
Barranquilla, Colombia
Paulino Salgado is an elementary, middle, and high school located in the slums of Barranquilla, Colombia. Sixty percent of the children who attend this school come from Afro-Colombian families displaced by the Colombia civil war, a violent conflict between Colombian paramilitary and local guerrilla groups. Afro-descendants are the most hard-hit by internal displacement in Colombia, a country that has the second-highest internal displacement rate in the world after Sudan, with estimates ranging from 1.9 million to almost 4 million, or about 6 percent of the population. In the cities Afro-Colombians are commonly subjected to discrimination and ethnic stereotyping leading to a denial of their cultural values.
Arriving in February of 2010, Paulino Salgado hosted their very first longterm English teaching volunteer. The volunteer stayed approximately four months and this was a wonderful experience for both the volunteer and the school. The children are now excited and determined to learn English, but are unfortunately limited to one English teacher for about 600 students now that the volunteer has returned home.
Dependent on future volunteers in order to better the future of children growing up in a neighborhood often ignored by the local government, Colegio Paulino Salgado looks forward to welcoming all persons interested in helping with our program. No previous teaching experience necessary. Conversational Spanish is a plus but not a must. We are looking for motivated, determined, open minded and flexible volunteers ready to be welcomed into a warm and fun environment filled with eager and happy children.