Amantani - Graduate programme

” Helping young people from indigenous communities in the Andes to access education and employment opportunities“

Project Co-ordinator: Zary Feeney
Location: Cuzco, Ccorca, Peru

Summary

Supports education for women in a remote indigenous community in Peru
The educational boarding houses project prevents young women to walk from up to 8 hours each day to get to and from school
This will be the largest all-female group to graduate from the programme and will mark a pivotal moment for the community of Ccorca in Cusco.

Description of Project

Amantani provides disadvantaged girls of Ccorca, a small rural community outside Cusco, with educational boarding houses to stay in near school avoiding eight hours’ daily walk. In addition it helps girls to graduate from school and obtain high quality further education and formal employment. In 2008 only 35 students received secondary education in Ccorca and no girl was in higher education; today 221 pupils are enrolled in secondary school and 40 will graduate in 2017.

Amantani created the Educational Boarding Houses in 2008 to give the most disadvantaged children in Ccorca a place to stay near to school. By staying within a boarding house, each child saves an average of 737 hours of walking per year. This time is now spent attending workshops and classes designed to support their schoolwork, ensuring the children achieve the most from their education.

La Vida supports the Graduate Programme, which aims to help the eldest girls in the Educational Boarding Houses to graduate from school and to transition into their new lives. The funding will cover the young women`s health & education costs. It is the largest all-female group of graduates at Amantani and crucial moment for both the Boarding House students and the community of Ccorca.

Having a high school diploma will directly benefit the young women by providing them with further work opportunities. By having an opportunity to access better paid jobs or continue to further education, they are breaking away from the cycle of poverty and are able to provide their families and future children with a higher standard of living.

For more information about the project, please visit Amantani’s Boarding Houses website