The Poveda Education Project in Chicago is now 20 years old. We celebrated by bringing together teachers and beneficiaries. The event was presided over by Auxiliary Bishop Mark Bartosic.

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There have been more than one thousand three hundred students and about one hundred volunteers, and more than one hundred high school diplomas have been obtained. English language learning and the personal improvement felt by many people are all thanks to the Poveda Education Project (PEP), which has just celebrated its twentieth anniversary.

“Now I am going to University”, says Celia de la Torre, one of the first students to join the Poveda Project. “In the PEP they encouraged me to continue studying... and I studied family education with my five children. Now that they are grown up, this advice is still fresh in my mind and I am going to enrol at the University,” she added. She was one of the people who joined the celebration taking place on 3 December in the parish that had hosted the Project in 2002. collage chicago

Sense of family

With more than 150 people in attendance –members of the Association, alumni, family and friends– it was both a solemn and convivial celebration. María Rosa Arbona welcomed everyone on behalf of the Teresian Association. Arantxa Aguado and Carmen Fernández Aguinaco gave a brief presentation of the history of the Project and a reflection on the lessons learned during these twenty years. Several former students gave testimonies about their participation in the Project and spoke of the sense of family and respect they had enjoyed and acquired during their studies.

Bishop Mark Bartosic presided at the Mass. He was the former parish priest who had opened the doors to the Project at the beginning. He reflected on what the presence of the PEP meant to him personally and to the parish community. The project is centred on holistic education that encompasses relationships, family bonds and friendship. Its solidarity has been evident over the years.

A meal prepared by the members and friends of the community was offered at the end.

A brief history of intensive activity

The Poveda Project began in 2002 when the members of the Association in Chicago wondered how to reach some sectors of the immigrant population who, for various reasons, did not have access to formal education programmes. From the beginning, the project had the enthusiastic support of the then Father Mark Bartosic. He was starting that year as parish priest of Santa Francisca Romana, the parish that hosted the Project. The initial announcement attracted more than 20 women who were eager to improve their reading and writing skills.

Soon other needs began to emerge. People wanted to obtain a secondary school certificate and to learn English. Programmes and methods were adapted to each of the students who came. “Learning is a lifelong task”, was the motto that presided over all classes and programmes. The learning that takes place between students, teachers and volunteers has always been mutual. An essential constant has always been a sense of respect for the dignity of each person and the building up of their self-esteem. “It's a kind of liberation”, one of the pupils once said, because “not knowing how to read was like being blind; now I'm free...”. Another said, “I used to be scared; I didn't speak. But now that I understand the calendar and the hours, I stand up for my rights. My classmates are surprised and impressed”.

Shortly before the COVID-19 pandemic led to lockdown, a programme for parents was started called “Family University”. It dealt with topics of interest to families in our changing society and culture: communication between parents and children, finances, information about opportunities and entitlement to social benefits.

During the difficult years of the pandemic, face-to-face classes had to be suspended, but some continued virtually. People from the Diocese of Des Moines, Iowa, who heard about the project, joined the Zoom sessions.

The Project is now entering a new phase as we enhance the face-to-face and Zoom classes, the family programme, and programmes in collaboration with the Pastoral Leadership Institute of the Archdiocese of Chicago.

Carmen Fernández-Aguinaco, Chicago.
TA Translators Team.

 

 

 

 

Published in Newsclicdedito