Baja Review A community newspaper serving Ensenada, Valle de Guadalupe, and Rosarito in Northern Baja California
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Buenos Principios, an elementary school to serve 20 of the poorest and neediest of Rosarito’s children, is ready to begin construction. Planning for the school was spearheaded by Antonio and Imelda Ayala, local educators who both come from backgrounds of poverty. Sr. Ayala is now a professor of English and Spanish, teaching classes privately in a classroom in their home in Rosarito. Sra. Ayala is a principal at a local elementary school. Both completed university and teacher education programs in the United States, and taught school there before they returned to their native Mexico to serve and improve education in our community.
Professor Ayala says Buenos Principios will help the children who need both education and other services like nutrition, access to medical and dental care, and when possible transportation, needed clothing, and school supplies.
They hope that after school care will be provided through the school and the community. The school program will be similar to Head Start programs in the US.
When Professor Ayala talks about the children who will be served, he often tells of a neighbor who is a basket maker, and who rises before dawn to gather materials, then works all day to make the baskets & sell them. It’s difficult for him to send his children to school as they need bus or taxi fare to get to school. They must also wear uniforms and shoes, buy school supplies, and bring or buy lunch at school. None of his children have been to a dentist.
Buenos Principios is for the children in this family and others like them. The school already has a building site in Colonia Constitution. Recently the project received both non-profit status and required local building permits. Grading on the site has been completed and a slab foundation has been poured. They anticipate that it will take three to four years to build and equip the school.
You can help with the construction of the building with a contribution of $10 or more. If you require more information you can contact Antonio or Imelda Ayala at 661 613-7900. Together our community can help the very poorest children in the Rosarito area.
