Peru
Education
$10,000 Goal
Provide psychological support for students struggling at a school in the slums of Peru
The Situation
In Tacna, Peru, children often need to work to support their families, so it is a big financial sacrifice for families when children attend school. Tacna is a city of 400,000, where about 1,000 youth attend the Fe & Allegra (Faith and Joy) school.
“Home situations are awful among many of our students. Alcoholism is rampant, kids are sent out to work. Everyone is just trying to survive. One mother was beaten to death by her boyfriend. Child abuse and domestic violence are common. Many single moms who work overnight have no options but to leave their kids alone.”
Sr. Sally Harper
Children are often not able to succeed in school which is their most likely way of moving out of extreme poverty and subsistence living. The barriers to their successfully completing their education and going on to higher learning or having a trade are high, including stressors from home, having to work, and struggling with issues of extreme poverty.
The Sisters Response
The Sisters of St. Joseph run the Fe & Allegra school, where destitute parents know their children are learning valuable skills — not only academics but skills in agriculture, computers, carpentry, electronics, sewing and more. They graduate with a profession.
“Through funding from Sisters Rising Worldwide, we have increased our two-part time psychologists who accompany the children and high schoolers to full time. This has been critical to assist the children and their families in this time of covid crisis.” —Sr. Zaida Perez
Since the beginning of the covid crisis, our children have not attended school in person. They have participated online through cell phones, a few lap tops, and listening to classes on the radio. It has been challenging and discouraging. Increased psychological help has been critical for maintaining school attendance and helping families cope with their daily struggles.
Funds Needed
Total funds needed: $10,000.00
How funds will be used:
To pay ½ of the salaries for two psychologists.
Systemic Goal
Children are often not able to succeed in school which is their most likely way of moving out of extreme poverty and subsistence living. The barriers to their successfully completing their education and going on to higher learning or having a trade are high, including stressors from home, having to work, and struggling with issues of extreme poverty.
The addition of psychologists offers the supports to address the many barriers.