Building Local Expertise in Latin America
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Building Local Expertise
In partnership with local agencies, Perkins provides training opportunities at schools, community centers and governmental ministries. In Latin America, more than 95 percent of trainings are presented and facilitated by local professionals. Between 1989 and 2007, we trained 20,000 professionals, amounting to 2,000 educators and professionals each year. Example trainings include:
- Partnering with Christoffel Blindenmission and the Ministry of Education in Mexico on an outreach initiative to over 40 special education officials in 16 states.
- Facilitating trainings in Argentina with programs at Rocca Hospital, Institution Fatima, DEMES, Sullia School, Small Farm Project, La Pampa State Schools, Jujuy Program, Salta Program and Buenos Aires state schools.
- Providing training to more than 500 teachers in Brazil on topics including deafblindness and multiple impairments, early intervention, learning strategies, communication methods and life skills.
- Arranging cooperative training programs with educational officials in Argentina, Panama, Ecuador, Costa Rica, Cuba, and Uruguay.
Perkins also sponsors conferences and workshops at the provincial, national and regional levels. In Argentina, for example, Perkins sponsored the first national conference on services for individuals who are deafblind. More than 250 educators, parents and professionals from multiple provinces participated, uniting groups that had previously been isolated. National trainings have also been held in Bolivia, Chile, Ecuador, Mexico, and Uruguay. Perkins also supports regional networking by sponsoring Latin American educators to visit model programs. On-site training takes place in more than 90 schools throughout the region each year.
Each year, Perkins supports selected individuals from Latin America to participate in the Educational Leadership Program. Since 1989, Perkins has sponsored Latin American participants from Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Guatemala, Mexico, Peru, Uruguay and Venezuela. ELP graduates often serve as regional resource trainers when they return home. In fact, several Latin American ELPs regularly serve as facilitators for conferences on blindness and deafblindness.
Developing University Training Programs
Prior to Perkins work in the region, there were no university programs specializing in the education of children who are deafblind or multiply disabled. Perkins immediately prioritized the development of such programs in an effort to professionalize the program. Partner universities include:
Cabred University, Argentina
Metropolitan University (UMCE), Chile
McKenzie University, Brazil
Interamericana University, Costa Rica
Between 1989 and 2007, more than 200 teachers from 12 Latin America countries have received post-graduate qualification through newly developed university programs. These programs are making headway in the education field for teachers of children who are deafblind or visually impaired with additional disabilities. In 2005, Cabred University's first year of operations, 21 students enrolled in the program to study deafblindness, including students from Cuba and Uruguay. Since 2002, UMCE in Chile has graduated over 100 students who are now specialized in education services for children with multiple disabilities.
University programs are increasingly important for professionals because they formalize training opportunities, which often leads to increased support for programs and resources for teachers.
Since professionals across Latin America are able to take advantage of studying in Spanish, graduates have come from Costa Rica, Colombia, Cuba, Mexico and Venezuela.