The High School in Ayacucho Has Been Built!

THE HIGH SCHOOL IN AYACUCHO

Phase I of the new high school in Ayacucho Village was completed in 2020. Before that time, many of the children living in Ayacucho, San Juan de Yanayacu, and Junin Villages attended high schools in other communities, some located as far as eight hours away. The children attending schools in these faraway villages resided Monday through Friday with a relative, a family friend, or a communal dormitory and only returned home to their families when school was on holiday. The high school’s great distance presented many hardships for the families. The cost of the gasoline, lodging and food for the child to attend school was beyond the means of the families living in these poor communities. Until Phase, I of the new high school opened for classes this past June, 90% of the students living in our rural jungle communities received only a primary school education. High school education was only a dream and not a lived reality until now!

Phase 1, Completed school Phase 2, Inside the school, Completed school Phase2, High school logo (official from Peru), Original school, Ayacucho and US sign made by the community

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During the October 2021 visit to Ayacucho, the NBHF Board Members were able to see the completed Phase II of the high school. The school has four classrooms, four bathrooms, and two tanks for freshwater. In September, we provided the high school with a generator and a copy machine. The school was given its final blessing by the Alcalde (Mayor) of Tamshiyacu, Clever Ruiz Pizango. Tamshiyacu District is the regional center of all activities for the river communities. Senor Ruiz Pizango and his staff paid a visit to the high school and met with Barbara Land, Dustin Pinedo Gonzales, and Walter Antonio Navarro Paredes (Principal of the Ayacucho Schools). He committed regional support to the high school and to all other NBHF projects in the area. Senor Pizango immediately sent to Ayacucho Village 15 bags of concrete to seal his support for the new high school.

Nevada Building Hope Foundation board members Bailey Ahyn and Maksym Taran are the sole funders of the Ayacucho High School. The Minister of Education acknowledges their generosity and an honorary plaque will be made by DREL, Peru’s Department of Education.

Continuing in their generosity, Makysm and Bailey funded an adult education program. This program will provide the adults living in the Ayacucho Zone with the opportunity to study beyond the primary school level. In many cases, many of the parents are unable to read nor write, making it difficult to navigate in this modern world. Walter Antonio Navarro Paredes (Principal of the Ayacucho Schools) will direct this program which will be housed in the new high school. Mr. Walter will ensure that this program will be certified by DREL and will begin in 2022.

Currently, we have 18 children from three communities attending the new high school. The children living outside of Ayacucho Village paddle themselves to school daily in their small canoes. It warmed our hearts to see the “jungle school buses!” Our list of students for next year will double the current enrollment in the high school.

EDUCATION

All ten teachers in our three jungle communities worked on a voluntary basis this past year. Due to COVID-19, all education in Peru was virtual. The teachers showed their commitment to the children by traveling to the jungle every few weeks without pay. A generous donation by one of our NBHF sponsors, provided the money to purchase a large quantity of school supplies for the three schools. Included in this donation was the purchase of machetes. Under the leadership of the principal, the children made a garden to grow fruits and vegetables. This is a very important project since the majority of the children living along the river banks suffer from severe anemia due to their poor diet.

A very generous donation by a NBHF sponsor, Linda Osmond Wirth, provided the money to buy every child in all three communities a pair of boots this fall. The hazards of poisonous snakes haunt the communities daily and present a real and constant danger to the children. This will be the fourth year, NBHF, has provided the children with boots.

The Nevada Building Hope Foundation would like to thank and acknowledge our teachers working in our communities:

Ayacucho Village:

· Mr. Walter Navarro Paredes – (Director/Principal) Primary School

· Wilma Edith Guevara Melendez – Primary School

· Zoila Pinchi Ramirez – Inicial (Kindergarten)

· Mary Ysabel Jaba Orbe – Inicial (Kindergarten)

· Ronaldo Pineda Mori – High School with English Language Studies

· Luis Virunaga Villacorta – High School

San Juan de Yanayacu:

· Silvia Cristina Garcia Gomez – Inicial (Kindergarten)

· Rufino Curico Mendoza – Primary School

Junin:

· Kelinda Amparos Bardales Gonzales – Primary School

· Milagros de Jesus Sias Arrante (Kindergarten) - Inicial

COMMUNITY SUPPORT PROJECTS

All three communities (Ayacucho, San Juan, and Junin) were beyond grateful for NBHF and The White Feather Foundation for the COVID-19 supplies we provided to them during the pandemic. It was clear that our support during the pandemic was life-saving for the communities. The food sent in May 2020 lasted some families for six months. We made several videos and shared many photos with The White Feather Foundation to express our gratitude for their financial support. We are honored to have partnered with this wonderful and generous organization.

DANCE

The children were delighted to take dance classes with Nevada Building Hope Foundation/ Peru Board Members Sorella Melina Salazar Braga and Silvia Zumaeta del Aguila. They instructed dance classes in ballet and in traditional Peruvian dances. Silva and Sorella are both renowned Iquitos-based dance teachers. With their continued commitment to the children, we can be assured that our arts/dance programs are sustainable in the future. The children have been studying ballet for the past four years and NBHF has received worldwide recognition for this endeavor. We are proud to offer renown, the Royal Academy of Dancing Syllabus in this remote part of the world. This syllabus is adaptable to every type of dance environment, including dance classes held in wooden structures in the Amazon Rainforest.

WOMEN’S PROJECTS

NBHF continues to support the women artisans in Ayacucho Village. In July 2021, we provided the funds for the women to make much-needed repairs and to paint their artisan house after the pandemic. The artisan house was funded by NBHF 2018.

In both July and September, we provided all three communities with much-needed medicines, eye drops, and creams. Barbara Land and Dustin Pinedo Gonzales visited every family in all three communities and discussed with them their current needs with COVID 19 still a lived reality in Peru.

We are excited about the continual growth of our foundation and we are honored by the support we have received these past years. The entire Board of Directors of Nevada Building Foundation/USA and Peru will continue in our mission to further aid and support the people living in the remote Amazon. The humanitarian aid and educational projects we do in Peru would not be possible without our sponsors from around the world. We thank each and every one of you!