CERECO

When it came time to begin my volunteer work here in Cochabamba I had expected to be placed at an orphanage or after-school setting, something not too "difficult" and not too demanding on my recently acquired Spanish skills. Then the idea was presented to me to work with the founder in Bolivian Special Education (CERECO)... one of only 3 special education facilities in Cochabamba. Since I have a degree in education, and am working on my Reading Specialist masters, the Maryknoll Volunteer Program thought that it would be a place that I could offer my expertise to and in turn, I could also learn a lot from. I visited CERECO a few weeks ago and have been working there for the last week and half. The school will continue to fill my time here in Bolivia throughout the month of August.

The CEnter for REhabilitation COchabamba (CERECO) opened a little over 30 years ago to serve the needs of people with disabilities in Cochabamba. CERECO offers services in physical therapy, psychology, audiology, speech pathology and special education services. Since special education and special education services are not widely understood in Bolivia, many of the children and young adults at CERECO have been turned away from the public schools. CERECO is working to alleviate the discrimination and disregard for people with disabilities through a relatively new program Proyecto Inclusion Escolar (PIE). The aim of the program is to provide ongoing support services to school-aged children with mild intellectual disabilities (and their families) allowing them to be successfully mainstreamed in the public school system. The project also works on creating community-wide awareness and appreciation for special education and people with disabilities through community meetings, radio programming and events which highlight the capabilities of people with disabilities.

I am working with 2 other teachers, offering scaffolded support in the areas of reading, writing, mathematics and life skills to a cohort of 7 students who have recently been mainstreamed in the public school system, as well as preparing another group of 7 or so prepare to leave CERECO and enter into the public school system. Twice a week we visit the public schools that CERECO students are attending, meet with the teachers and parents and as a team, make sure that the needs of each student are being met. For those of you who know something about education, it is similar to an IEP (Individualized Educational Plan) support team, however in Bolivia, this kind of support is not mandated by the state or federal governement, which means that it is very rare that it happens at all. I am really impressed by the initiative and success to which CERECO is promoting awareness of and advocating for people with disabilities and happy to be a part of the success story for a few weeks while here in Bolivia. I'll post more stories from CERECO soon!