Colombian PE teacher helps kids build up confidence

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Kelly Jonanna Diaz Camargo, a PE teacher from Colombia who has been working in childhood education for almost 10 years, came to Shenzhen in 2010.

“I was working with kids in Colombia and my boss at that time brought me to open one place in China, because one of the teachers who was living in Shenzhen said there is a great opportunity here,” said Diaz, adding that she used to work at training centers for kids and also as a football coach in Colombia.

Four years later, her boss closed the place. Diaz started her own program called “Gogokids” with two other partners. It is a psychomotor program for kids from 4 months to 9 years old, which provides a safe, positive and fun-filled space to develop physical abilities and psychological training.

“The kids here are 4-month-olds to 9 years old. The sport is getting really popular now. People are interested in letting their kids do exercises because they are realizing how important it is. Our classes are full all the time,” said Diaz.

Some of the kids, especially those between 2 and 3 years old, cry when they first join the program. “They cry because they are kind of afraid of us, because we are new to them, or they are afraid of falling down. Some of the kids are really happy, while some cry, but actually they want to be a part of it,” said Diaz.

“But this is what we want to do, actually. We want to help them build up confidence. What I want to teach is that even though you feel afraid, you still have to face it. The kids need to know these feelings,” said Diaz, adding that gradually the parents understand what they want and feel relaxed.

Diaz told the Shenzhen Daily that their program is not losing money or earning money. “We can afford to pay everything. We have tried to open another one and we are looking for teachers, which is the real problem. Because in China you can find a lot of people with money who want to invest, but finding a good teacher is very difficult.”

One of the many things Diaz loves about China is the respect that teachers receive in the country. “Chinese people really respect teachers. Honestly, being a teacher in other countries is not that important. Here you really can feel the respect. Most of the parents are older than me, and they believe in me and put their kids in my hands. What I have to do is give all of my knowledge to them.”