SEEDs Spreading Across Mexico
Voices
SEEDs Spreading Across Mexico
April 2005 [Mexico]
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 Young singers perform at the Inauguración Sala SEED — Escuela Primaria Ignacio López Rayón |
Angela Mafla knows the real reason for working with students and teachers in developing countries. ” This is a very cool experience,” she said. “To see the children's faces after they learn something new, really, is quite fulfilling.”
Angela started as a volunteer in Villahermosa, Mexico in March 2003. Taking a special interest in CEI # 1, a school that didn’t quite meet the requirements to be a SEED school, Angela arranged for some teachers to visit Secundaria Tecnica 11, another school already participating in the program. The teachers shared ideas and experiences. They realized the schools work as a team. Before long, CEI # 1 was another successful member of the SEED team!
Since last fall, she has been volunteering nearly 15 hours a week at Ignacio López Rayón, an elementary school in Poza Rica, a small community in the state of Veracruz on the Gulf of Mexico. She says with a smile, “This will be the best SEED school in Mexico.” SEED remodeled one of the school’s classrooms into a computer lab, supplying 15 desktop computers and paying for Internet connectivity for 2 years. Angela is training 12 teachers to use the computers and the Internet, an opportunity they never had before. She is also helping to teach the students the computer skills so necessary for educational advancement and career opportunities.
Angela, whose husband José is Drilling & Measurements Mexico East operations manager, is also encouraging the teachers to learn more about science so they, in turn, will guide their students to take a greater interest in the subject.
Last November, 2 students accompanied by 2 teachers went to a SEED workshop in Mexico City where they created science projects with children from 8 other SEED schools from Mexico. The teachers were amazed at what can be accomplished with just a little training and encouragement. They were very excited to know how much more they can teach their kids.
Angela is just one of the many enthusiastic Schlumberger Excellence in Educational Development (SEED) volunteers throughout the world. They share their time, talents and passion with the children in their community and receive immeasurable rewards.
SEED depends on the dedication of its volunteers and sends thanks to the more than 1,000 Schlumberger volunteers worldwide who communicate our passion for science and learning with youth, worldwide.
