CONCEPT FOR DEVELOPING THE

HERMAN ASCHMANN MEMORIAL MINISTRY CENTER (AMMC)

AS THE FUNCTIONAL CENTER OF A TOTONAC TRIBE-WIDE LEADERSHIP TRAINING PROGRAM

Goal: To design a learning system that will train Totonac men and women where they live for service in the church and in the community.

Motto: “Aptos para Servir”

A Learning Network: The Totonac people are scattered over a considerable territory, which is largely mountainous, often with poor communication. There are now hundreds of churches and groups meeting together for worship and instruction in the Word. It is necessary, therefore, to think in terms of Learning Centers in strategic locations for training people locally. The Learning Centers would be sited at centers of transportation and commerce within identifiable geographical areas. For planning purposes only, we suggest ten such locations, but we may start with six and grow to twelve or more. The activities at Centers would be energized by learning programs designed and produced at AMMC, which would be located in Nanacatlan.

The Leadership Group: We acknowledge Dr. Felipe Ramos as the natural and most experienced educator in the ethnic group. We need to identify a leader from each of the probable Learning Centers locations, to be the Manager of the local Learning Center and the Mentor of the learning program that will take place there. These Leaders, plus some additional Mentors from Nanacatlan, would form a Governing Council for the AMMC.

All full members of the Governing Council must be Totonac speakers. There can be Associate members and Consultants who are not native Totonacs.

The Nanacatlan Center:

∙      To function as the base for the activities of the Leadership Group.            

∙      To contain a library of all the resources needed for the development of the learning curriculum to be supplied to the Learning Centers.

∙      To be the place for seminars and other learning activities of the Governing Council.

∙      To be housed in a building annexed to the current Church in Nanacatlan. The building initially will be a one-storey, eight to ten meters square, containing an office for Felipe, a seminar room capable of handling 20 people, a technical lab, and a storage room.

∙      The building can be used for church activities that do not conflict with the educational activities.

∙      When people come from a distance to participate in activities at the Center, they will be housed either with believers in Nanacatlan, or in hotels in Zapotitlan.

The Learning Centers: Generally, these activities can take place in a local church. For the educational program, each center will be equipped with a laptop and projector, and have available a cabinet or other arrangement for safekeeping of equipment and educational materials.

The Learning Platform:  Currently, audio takes of the radio broadcasts, and video tapes of the training sessions taking place in Nanacatlan are available as learning resources. There are also the translations of the New Testament in Totonac (in four dialects), a Totonac-Spanish dictionary in Highland Totonac, and possibly other pieces of literature. These are useful resources, but do not constitute a curriculum—a plan of study carefully worked out to maximize the learning of students with a variety of learning goals. This is the challenge for the Governing Council, who should make use of experienced Counselors from outside the tribe. ILV should be consulted for help in identifying such outside resources.

-- 
Latin American Indian Ministries
Home Office: 626-795-0902
Facebook: drdalekietzman
Website: www.laim.org
Email: dale@laim.org
Skype: wciudale