Education Assistant

Tasks & Responsibilities:

Volunteers may have a role in both organizations (Yo’onik and Mujeres Sembrando la Vida). Volunteers interested in language education may work directly with the children at Yo’onik, to help younger children who speak mostly Tzotzil with their Spanish. Volunteers may also spend a lot of time creating and aiding in educational games for the children. At Mujeres Sembrando La Vida, volunteers work remotely to help contact potential buyers and measure interest in the products the women make abroad. Volunteers interested in media, marketing, or advertising may also have the opportunity to develop promotional videos for the organization or assist in website development.

Qualifications:

Volunteers should be fairly self-directed and self-motivated; the director of the organization is not always present to provide directions so volunteers should be willing to find work that needs to be done without constant supervision. Intermediate to high level of Spanish preferred. This position is ideal for someone interested in languages and cultures of Chiapas, Mexico and Guatemala; how education non-profits function in the context of indigenous communities; micro-financing and sustainable development projects; textile art and craft production; the history and economy of women’s collectives in Chiapas.

Tagged as: development initiatives, indigenous communities, language education, Spanish, textile cooperatives