*Ver abajo texto original en Espanol Some of the youngest kids in the community, less than 6 years old, who attend the Sariry program, have parents who, out of economic necessity, have had to leave for other places in search of work, leaving the young children in the care of their grandmothers. When these kids […]
On the last Friday of every month, all the teachers working in our Biblioteca projects throughout Cusco come together for a day to exchange experiences and training. During our latest training workshop, we discussed a very important, but often overlooked, aspect of our Biblioteca projects: the student portfolio. The student portfolio is a tool […]
*Ver abajo texto original en Español To benefit from the winter winds, kids from the Sariry Foundation, and the community, interacted in the holidays, constructing kites (also called comets). It was fun because they had to recover traditional games and make use of their creativity, imagination, perseverance, and independence in order […]
There are many obstacles to improving the quality of education in rural Peruvian communities. What we try to do, in partnership with students, teachers, and parents, is find paths around those obstacles. Nevertheless, as it is with everything, each solution leads to new obstacles, new possible solutions, etc. Our biblioteca projects offer a fun and […]
Kids are kids no matter what! I recently had the opportunity of visiting some of the Alma projects in Cuzco and interacting with many of the kids. Some of them were shy, some were very excited and spontaneous, some had special needs, and some were super smart! I have 2 young kids myself, and the […]
It was unlikely that I would become close with Vilma. She is one of the more shy students in Huadhua, where we run a biblioteca project. On the opening day of the project, the entire community held an inaugural event and everyone was in attendance. All the children were so excited to start that once […]
On the first day of the Biblioteca project in Huadhua, after speaking with the teachers and parents and playing some games with the students, the first thing we did was divide the students into groups and give each group an unopened digital camera. We then proceeded to open the boxes together and search for each […]
One of our newest projects is called Cultura Sirionó. The Sirionó people are an indigenous people in the Bolivian Amazon. Ian was there recently, to finalize the details of two projects we’re starting in the communities of Pata de Aguila and Ibiato. Like all of our projects, they will have a lasting impact on the communities. But this […]
On Tuesday, March 30, my dad and I had the pleasure of touring two of Alma’s projects outside of Cusco. We were greeted (nice and early!) in the morning by Ian, Alma’s program director, who drove us out to the first project on an incredibly breathtaking drive through the mountains. We were both thoroughly impressed […]
In Bolivia, it is a tradition to celebrate carnivals with dances and balloons. Tilata families and most of the families of the Sariry Foundation, usually perform “ch’alla” which is a ritual to thank the Pachamama (Mother Earth) for material goods such as house, car, furniture and etc. The goods are decorated with streamers and balloons […]
A couple of weeks ago I got the type of call that I love to get. One of our students from the Patabamba Academy Project was accepted to a government scholarship program called “Beca 18” that will cover 100% of his expenses to study Civil Engineering at the Universidad San Ignacio de Loyola in Lima! […]
Edgar is a 3rd grade boy who comes from a poor family. Both of his parents are illiterate. His father, by false accusation, spent three years in prison leaving his wife and 5 children without any support. As a result of the family issues Edgar’s performance in school has dropped significantly. Despite all difficulties, the mother did her best to […]
Last month the first two participants, Karina and Esmeralda, in our Alma Alumni project moved into their new home in Cusco. The Alma Alumni project is a brand new initiative where we support some of the best students who have passed through our projects over the years and are now continuing their higher education studies […]
When I was young, we got presents for Christmas and our birthdays, plus a new outfit for Easter. My parents didn’t buy us toys or gifts throughout the year, so it was a big deal when those special occasions rolled around. Today, however, as much as I try not to, I often find myself buying […]
The new school year has just begun and Alma has been out in the field attending many parents’ assemblies to get our projects ready for 2015! Some of the communities are the same as last year, but there are many new projects in new communities almost ready to begin as well. One of the new […]
On a recent trip to Cusco, I had the privilege of accompanying Ian McGroarty and his assistant Octavio on his visits to two of the Alma Foundation projects. We visited the Colcha and the Cochirhuay communities and Ian spoke with the teachers and students about the projects for this year. It was very evident by […]
Our program director in Peru, Ian McGroarty, was visiting his family a few weeks ago in the United States and came up to Toronto for 24 hours to attend our Board of Directors strategy session. We used his visit as an excuse to have an informal party for volunteers here so that they could hear […]
I recently had the chance to escape the rain in Cusco and head out to the Amazon rainforest to take the early steps of getting to know different communities, talk to them about the barriers they face to high quality education, and hear their ideas for possible solutions. It is always a great experience getting […]
As we head towards the end of the Peruvian school year, it is time for us to close out our projects for 2014 in order to evaluate implementation and impact and to also make changes/ improvements for the projects that will continue into 2015. However, it is also the time of year that we begin […]
I rarely drive to a community alone. If I am heading somewhere with a road that leads to it, I almost always end up picking up people needing a ride up to their community. Yesterday, when I was driving back from Patacancha, one of those people I picked up happened to be Maria Teresa. Maria […]