My beautiful school

Many children in rural Peru suffer from malnutrition, often caused by poor hygiene, contaminated drinking water, parasites and inadequate nutrition. Malnutrition has a negative impact on children's physical and mental development. The schools in the rural areas are very basic and run-down, which does not make them a welcoming place for schoolchildren and teachers. We support schools, teachers, schoolchildren and parents to improve the quality of their school through simple actions that they can do themselves.

Timeframe

2021-2023

Pillar

Education

Project Community

84 schools with 3’739 students in the remote regions of Cusco, Puno and Apurimac.

Project area

Aim of the project

Empowering schools, students, teachers and parents to make improvements in their schools that improve education quality, hygiene and nutrition.

Project details

Information is provided on exactly what needs to be done when a community signs up to the school project, and everyone participates under the same conditions. In order to meet the targets, the steps are painted on a wall in the school and a detailed project plan including a schedule is prepared. The schools are evaluated annually by an external committee and those that have made the most progress receive school materials or equipment.

Since the community does all the work, very often they are surprised at the results – and proud! They find themselves even more motivated to maintain the improvements and come up with more for their school. Community school improvements are written into the school regulations to ensure continuity and all school project activities are aligned with the government’s education and health policy.

The project is part of our Programme Healthy Municipalities and is implemented in Peru and Bolivia. It consists of three core areas:

Food security

A balanced diet for school meals is needed to help the children overcome the chronic malnutrition resulting from parasites and insufficient food. So the schools set up school kitchens and dining rooms, build greenhouses and start looking after small animals (chickens and guinea pigs). Healthy habits are promoted, hygiene corners and ecological dry toilets are set up.

Improving the infrastructure and school grounds

Students, teachers and parents work together to improve the school grounds. They build an outside wall to protect the school area, and playgrounds and sports fields, as well as outdoor learning areas. Walkways and stairs are built in the schoolyard for safety and hygiene, gardens and trees are planted. Recycled materials are used to make the classrooms and school grounds pretty.

Capacity building and skills development

The secondary school students take marketing courses and learn to implement projects. As required by the education guidelines, the schools do community learning projects, for example, they set up a bakery, which in turn benefits the whole village community.

The carpentry courses and carpentry tool kit are used to teach children and teenagers to repair school equipment and furniture, and to make small toys and other useful items.

At the end of each school year, the school has an education fair, initiated by Suyana and then handed over to local authorities. The school children give presentations on what they have learnt from the Suyana activities. They look forward to this day every year and enjoy teaching peers and members of the community what they have learnt. This boosts their self-confidence and encourages learning.

Together we make it happen

By 2019, over 17,160 schoolchildren and 1,417 teachers in 254 schools had participated in the School Strategy and made sustainable improvements to their school and education.

Since 2021, we are working with 84 schools with 3,739 primary and secondary students.

The family project includes the same health and hygiene activities to help children develop healthy habits at home too.

Together we make it happen

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