By Pat Striplin, Trinity UMC Member
A small team—Evert, Mily, Joshua, and Tania—have learned to speak English; and now they are teaching others. Their example of acquiring an employable skill that they can share with others fuels our mantra of “inspiring hope for a better future.”
LHN, a small mission group in Leon, Nicaragua, got its start in January 2019, in response to young people expressing a desire to learn English. Employment opportunities are limited in Nicaragua, and we have found that knowing English can open doors for employment. Opportunities to learn English, though, are also limited and economically out of reach for most Nicaraguans. LHN is tuition free, and word has spread quickly about this “free English School.”
In March, 2019, I was there in Leon as we were getting the project off the ground. The initial team of teachers was composed of students I had worked with through weekly Skype classes. Since all the students enrolling in LHN in 2019 were at a beginning level, four of those Skype students were able to assume Level 1 teaching roles. During the first two years, we kept adding levels of instruction up to Level 5, and I continued to teach by Zoom the top level of students and also the teachers. Those first teachers moved to a higher level of teaching as they themselves gained skills. Interestingly, all of the original teachers have moved on to other jobs. As students graduate from the course, some of them have become LHN teachers, so the school itself has become a source of employment. I am inspired that the teachers view seriously their role in helping others. In fact, the whole school is like a big family. And, we actually have quite a number of students with family members also enrolled. Word of mouth is our advertisement method.
During the last trimester of 2023, I restructured the content of the five levels of instruction to decrease the number of levels to four. By this time, I felt the teachers had reached a degree of proficiency that enabled them to assume the teaching roles for all four levels. From the 2019 beginning, through weekly meetings with them, teachers have continued to expand their knowledge of English and to grow in teaching skills. NOW, they are running the little LHN English School.
My 2020 plans to return to Nicaragua were interrupted by COVID-19, and I have just this year been able to make that trip again. This summer, June 2024, I returned to Nicaragua. Interestingly, all four of my current team members I had not met in person; so my time there was truly a get-to-know you better, a deepen-our-relationship time. We were able to make plans face to face. And, oh, what a wonderful time there it was!
The whole team met me at the airport with a welcome sign made by one of the students. We had our first team meal together—lunch at Tip Top (a Nicaraguan version of Kentucky Fried Chicken), a stop on our way to Leon from the airport in Managua. And we talked nonstop. During my time there, I had individual time with each team member. I met their families, even a grandmother. The team prepared a special welcome meal for me the second night I was there. I met all the students (about 64) individually, and was overwhelmed by their gratitude of being able to be a part of this program. I heard so many of their stories about how this language school experience has changed their lives. And happily, quite a number of them have already been able to get jobs.
Being on site, seeing the school in action, is infectious. I came away newly committed to continuing to support their efforts at helping themselves, of believing they CAN make a better life for themselves and their families. My hope is that others would like to join the support effort.
