The classes included stories in Kreole explained in Spanish, Chilean idioms, songs and various performances.

Happy and grateful with the University of La Serena and their community were the Haitian citizens residing in the Tierras Blancas sector who participated in the workshops Intercultural Literacy, taught by students of the career of Pedagogy in Early Childhood Education from the ULS, with the support of their teachers.

The pedagogical proposal was based on the Freirian methodology (Paulo Freire), which consists of learning through dialogue and didactics. “We had 10 very diverse, dynamic and dialogue classes, we read stories in Kreole for them to explain in Spanish, we saw Chilean idioms, we did skits, we sang songs from their country and Chile, etc.,” explained Fernanda Ramírez, a student at the career that was part of the group of young people in charge of the workshops that were given at the ULS Education Department and at the Tierras Blancas sports center.

“We do not have enough words to express the happiness and satisfaction we feel. We don't know how to describe the importance of this workshop in our lives here in Chile. It brings us many new things such as knowledge, friendship, animation, technique and others,” said Santo Accade, who participated in the workshops with Carmène Jn Exumé, Alix Colot, Donald Nelson, Youdeline Derival and Gary Pierre.

During the closing ceremony of the program, the Haitian citizen also thanked those who supported them and were always there to help them and shared the Chilean culture, “especially Clara Tirado, Carlos Calvo and Silvia López de Maturana and the students of Pedagogy in Early Childhood Education, who were always available and willing to support us with dedication.”

For academic Clara Tirado, coordinator of the Community Pedagogy Project of the same degree and within which this initiative was framed, she stated that it was “a milestone within the University, it is a tremendously important instance. It is the closing of a workshop, but it is also a new beginning. And this is what corresponds to a State university, which has a fundamental role in social inclusion and in the training of committed citizens.”

The academic also congratulated the students, “future teachers, protagonists of this process, for participating committedly as Cultural Literacy Teachers, from an intercultural perspective.”

Written by Gonzalo Lozano and Claudia Farías, DirCom