For persons with a disability that greatly limits their physical ability, earning a living is a big challenge, and even more so in the recent economic turndown. At PROJIMO, the rural Community Rehabilitation Program in Sinaloa, Mexico, a number of significantly disabled persons have learned to generate income by teaching Spanish. Their students are often rehabilitation workers from other countries who come to volunteer, but also to learn or improve their Spanish.

The Spanish program is now in its third generation of teachers. Its first teacher was Julio—who is quadriplegic—who learned the basics of teaching from a volunteer, Sarah Werner (David’s cousin) who is an ESL teacher in Ohio. Julio, who is a master of turning learning into fun—later taught his teaching skills to Rigo Delgado, also quadriplegic, and Gabriel Cortez, who has arthrogryposis. Rigo in turn taught Virginia, who has brittle-bone disease, and who has headed the PROJIMO Conversational Spanish Training Program for the last two years.

Rigo, who is now independent from PROJIMO, for the past two years has been studying Community Psychology at the University in Culican, the state capitol. To help support himself he teaches “distance learning” Spanish by Skype (voice communication by computer)—at US$10 per hour. He used to have enough students to get by. But with the recent recession, his students are fewer. So Rigo has asked us to send out a notice promoting his Spanish Training by Skype.

INTERESTED IN LEARNING SPANISH? Help Rigo be self-sufficient and fniish his university degree: Learn Spanish through one-on-one distance learning by Skype.

Contact Rigoberto Delgado Zavala by email at teacherigo30@hotmail.com.

Alternatively, if you would like to study Spanish en vivo at PROJIMO in Mexico, contact Mari Picos at projimo@gmail.com. See details on the flier. Or click here.