The Online Magazine for Traveling & Living in Baja
New Stories - Subscribe for FREE - Advertise - Contact
Cruisers Helping Kids in Isolated Sea of Cortez Fishing Community
Sunbreak
Educational Adventures
Sunbreak Educational Adventures is a family based organization which brings school supplies and resources to secluded villages and water access only communities. Led by Kevin and Allison Porter, longtime Sea of Cortez sailors, and their three school age children, they have been based out of La Paz in BCS Mexico for the past three years. They decided to share their experience of home-schooling their own children with the local villages found along the coast of Baja, and to help them better equip themselves in dealing with their rapidly changing culture and environment. Here is their story:
We
decided to start S.E.A. because we wanted to be connected to local kids
we met during our travels and we wanted to help expose them to Art and
Science, two of our favorite subjects.
While
in our first 6 months back in the southern Sea of Cortez, we were lucky
to be introduced to, Reyner Arce Cota, the teacher from San Evaristo, a
small fishing village about 50 nautical miles north of La Paz. We
immediately hit it off and a connection was made. The first need we were
able to address was finding a generator, so the 18 students in the
little one room classroom there could use their computer. It had been
donated 3 years earlier but had never been hooked up as the school has
no electricity. We delivered the generator and followed up with a big
soccer game and beach barbecue. It was a great time to get to know each
other and we really cemented our friendship.
In
the following three years we have had the opportunity to help the school
with printers, basic supplies, books to begin a library, and a
telescope. We have expanded, this year, to include the Jardin de Ninos
preschool in San Evaristo and the, one, four year old girl on Coyote
Island. We have been supplying educational and art supplies to these new
schools and are looking forward to being able to bring in needed
supplies for years to come..
Our project idea for last year came from our youngest child, Isabelle. She got the idea while walking through the Goodwill one day and we discovered a pile of new looking backpacks. She then came up with the idea of collecting backpacks and filling them with school supplies. We announced on the morning radio net our need for donations and what we were looking for. We had 30 backpacks donated plus enough supplies to FILL each one with age appropriate supplies for the school year. We delivered them in April at another of our, now famous, beach parties and we were able to hand out new backpacks to all the kids in town.
This
year we hope to be able to bring a marine biologist and an artist to the
schools for a week long project. We have found some great friends at the
Whale Museum here in La Paz and are planning to use some of their
resources to help enrich the schools we come in contact with. We look
forward to working together on many different kinds of projects that
include the environment, marine biology and art.
Our dream is to purchase a tradition sailing vessel and to offer instruction in traditional sailing, seamanship, and how to cruise with your family, all while learning about marine biology and interacting with the local culture. We will continue to deliver school supplies to secluded villages and water access only communities and bring teachers to the schools as an enrichment program focusing on Art and Science. Families, individuals, teachers, businesses can join us on the boat and, not only learn traditional sailing and the art of cruising, but can also can have hands on involvement in our educational programs.
For further information contact sunbreak@sunbreakea.org
Publisher's Note: The BajaInsider provides free publicity for charitable events which support causes to which the publishers are sympathetic. We do not investigate the validity of our contributing charities and encourage our readers to check out any institution before making significant contributions. We also wish great success to all charities with sincere motivation.
Additional Information
Float School Brings Science to San Evaristo