A Vista for Literacy

At Next Vista for Learning, we believe that digital media can help young people in any environment realize they have the creative insights needed to help others. Since 2006, we have been building a library of educational videos highlighting this belief.

The story that follows is of our 2012 effort in rural Mexico, and we would like to thank all who encouraged us make this possible. What these students did will help others for many years to come, and what you did inspires us to find new ways to show what current technologies make possible.

Project Amigo

Based in the town of Cofradia in Colima, Mexico, the people at Project Amigo have helped thousands of children in wonderful ways. Youngsters who keep their grades up, attend weekly homework session, and participate in team activities can have their educational expenses covered by sponsors from North America and Europe, potentially through graduate school.

I (Rushton Hurley, founder of NextVista.org) first visited Project Amigo to take part in one of their "work weeks" in 2006, and fell in love with the wonderful work this organization does, and published on our site a story of what I saw as a volunteer. The founders of Project Amigo, Ted and Susan, stayed in touch with me, and in early 2012, we settled on the summer as a time I should return and teach a group of students how to create simple videos.

A Vista for Literacy

The idea was to have these students create a set of simple videos made from pictures they take. Each video would cover a letter of the Spanish alphabet, with narration from the students and images that include elements of their lives in Colima.

My team at NextVista.org decided we would try to raise $1500 to buy equipment (cameras, audio tools, SD cards, etc.) we could take and leave in Mexico. We outfitted this page with a shiny new PayPal button, and I decided that if we could raise a third of that amount, it would have been a success.

On a Wednesday morning in June, we posted the page with the alphabet videos plan. Via email and every source of social media we knew, we put out the call for help, with the basic request that folks donate $5 toward this effort. By evening of the next day, we'd raised the $1500.

Letters and Stories

The time in Colima was wonderful, and the students mastered the equipment and software with ease. That's all the more impressive, given their instructor's limited Spanish. (I sometimes explain that I speak enough Spanish simply to entertain my Spanish-speaking friends.) The students would listen to me fumble, discuss with each other what I probably meant, and then figure it out for themselves.

We finished the alphabet videos by the end of the next-to-last day, and on the final day, I asked them to use footage to create stories telling about something related to their experiences. One student, Carlos, decided to do a piece telling about Tatiana, another student in the program. It's a beautiful story that even one who doesn't speak Spanish can follow. One of Project Amigo's top donors saw the video and let Ted and Susan know it had brought tears to her eyes. We added it to the Global Views collection of our site, and you can see it here.

The students let us know that they enjoyed the workshop very much, and it did my heart good to hear several of them say that they felt what they'd learned would be of value to their studies and work prospects in the future.

Where We Go From Here

In 2013, we plan to expand on this effort by returning to Colima to work with more students to create new educational videos helping those learning Spanish.

Additionally, we are working to start a second effort in another country, and will announce that here and on our home page when details are finalized.

Thank You, Donors!

Every dollar donated in this and similar projects goes toward equipment and material for the young people creating the videos we post. Other expenses are covered through Next Vista's service revenue (fees for speaking to and training teachers) and contributions the partner organization chooses to make (housing for trainers, food for the students, etc.).

We would like to recognize those who made contributions at our Silver Level ($50) and our Gold Level ($100 or more). The names of the very generous Gold Level contributors also appear in the credits in each video.

Gold Level

  • Sandy Abalos
  • Carol and Tom Anderson
  • Wendy Behles
  • Justin Bell
  • Adam Bellow
  • Elizabeth Burks
  • Darlene Feldstein
  • David Fisher
  • Dick Henning
  • Wendy Ho
  • Doug Hurley
  • Laura Hurley
  • Lee Kolbert
  • Gyneth Jones
  • Gay Krause
  • Laine Montgomery
  • Andy Ratermann
  • Will Robinson
  • Francoise Roger
  • Ted Rose
  • Linda Selman
  • Donna Smith
  • Jerry Tolbert
  • Roger Wagner

Silver Level

  • Parrie Jane Carroll
  • Dennis Grice
  • Francine Hardaway
  • Brian and Lisa Highfill
  • Robert Hurley
  • Monica Latin
  • Diane Main

If you know young people who might be interested in creating videos that help others learn, please don't hesitate to contact us. Thank you for taking time to read our story, and we hope you will partner with us to make more learning opportunities happen near and far.

You can support our efforts by clicking the button below, and by spreading the word about our little site and what its free library is doing for students and teachers everywhere.

Everyone's excited after this amazing project!

Next Vista for Learning is a U.S. 501(c)(3) non-profit educational charity, and your donation may be tax-deductible. We recommend checking with your tax advisor for detailed questions in this regard.