“If you talk to a man in a language he understands, that goes to his head. If you talk to him in his language, that goes to his heart”
HOW IT ALL STARTED
In 2003 Papiamento became one of the official languages on the island of Aruba. This is very unique since Papiamento transitioned from being a slave language to an official language.
Papiamento is widely spoken on our island, and is used on all social levels including the government in its daily work. Papiamento has always mostly been used for oral communication with the result that most native speakers never had the opportunity to learn their own language.
Aruba is known to have a huge number of nationalities for such a small island. There are people from all over the world living in Aruba and although English and Spanish are widely spoken, it is also necessary to speak the native language to become part of the community.
The need of professional assistance in learning Papiamento gave life to Cas di Papiamento.
On the other hand there is also a very big demand for courses of Dutch, English and Spanish. This conducted to the introduction of courses of all the main languages spoken on the island.
Papiamento is widely spoken on our island, and is used on all social levels including the government in its daily work. Papiamento has always mostly been used for oral communication with the result that most native speakers never had the opportunity to learn their own language.
Aruba is known to have a huge number of nationalities for such a small island. There are people from all over the world living in Aruba and although English and Spanish are widely spoken, it is also necessary to speak the native language to become part of the community.
The need of professional assistance in learning Papiamento gave life to Cas di Papiamento.
On the other hand there is also a very big demand for courses of Dutch, English and Spanish. This conducted to the introduction of courses of all the main languages spoken on the island.
OUR MISSION
To provide quality language materials, instructions and classes to all individuals who have chosen our institute to learn Papiamento, Dutch. English or Spanish as a medium of communication for academic or professional pursuits and to promote intercultural understanding.
OUR VISION
To become the leading institute on Aruba by setting high standards of excellence in innovative curriculum design, teaching, professional development, and cross-cultural understanding.
OUR FOUNDER
Founder, Director, Owner and Teacher Swinda Maduro-Schwengle was a school teacher for over 35 years. She first started as an elementary school teacher, after that she worked in special education and later as a lecturer at different higher educations. Her love for her language made her a very passionate teacher. She later became the project leader and also author of different methods for Papiamento for the department of education.
She decided to start her own institute to teach Papiamento to students and people from other countries. Her passion is teaching people to speak the language and her vision is to let people feel the spirit and customs of our people by giving them entrance to Cas di Papiamento (House of Papiamento).