The Peruvian Ministry of Education recognized today CHIRAPAQ, Center of Indigenous Cultures of Peru, for its contribution to the improvement of education in the country during 2016.
The award was received by indigenous activist Tarcila Rivera Zea from Juan Pablo Silva Macher, Vice Minister of Institutional Management of the ministry, during a ceremony held at the Westin Hotel in Lima.
This recognition is part of the “Allies for Education” initiative that seeks to foster cooperation between the State, private enterprise and civil society, in order to contribute to the implementation of the country’s educational policies.
In the Loreto region, CHIRAPAQ collaborates with the Rural Training Centers in Alternation (CRFA), recently created by the Ministry of Education. These centers allow indigenous young people living in areas of difficult geographic access to be able to reside in the school for a short period and then return to their communities and put into practice what they have learned.
In the communities of Antioquia, Nueva Esperanza, Pucalpillo and Puerto Porvenir, CHIRAPAQ supports the students of these centers to develop their skills for bio-vegetable planting and raising of guinea pigs, so that they can ensure their food during their stay in the School and develop their own productive initiatives in the future.
CHIRAPAQ supports in Loreto the families of these young people for the recovery of indigenous knowledge in order to mitigate the effects of climate change and revaluate the indigenous food culture. In addition to their training in indigenous rights, reforestation, construction of fish farms and sheds are also carried out for the raising of smaller animals, as well as the cultivation of vegetables and fruit plants.
This initiative is developed thanks to the constant support of the Oxfam agency, with whom CHIRAPAQ shares the honors of this recognition.
At the ceremony, it was closed by the holder of the education portfolio, Jaime Saavedra, who highlighted the role of civil society in order to cover the country’s educational demand.
“We are hopeful that it can actually be improved, but there is a very long way to go and to continue on this route we must have a close job with you,” he told the audience.
In addition to CHIRAPAQ, other institutions were recognized, including Microsoft in Peru and Fundación Telefónica.
