Help Revolutionize Education For Peruvian Children

Sheyla Arana: First second generation Professional of Enseña Perú

Thank you for your donations! Due to your generous contributions, Enseña Perú has been able to keep growing and reach more student. We have some amazing news and we want to share the story of Sheyla Arana with you:

"Sense of excellence and improve the quality of the education in the country." These two phrases may sound incoherent for many, but when I was in senior year they were enough to find an answer to all of the questions and doubts that were in my head. I was in my last year of high school and it was my second year in the Major President Secondary School of Peru. I had the privilege of having a different education, in general the experience was wonderful. My family was happy and excited, dreaming about my future career. Almost everything was perfect. I say almost, because I wanted to be a teacher, a preschool teacher in Peru.

"No, you are going to die of hunger."

"Think better, you can do more.”

"Look how far you have gone and you are going to study to be a teacher? No Sheyla."

This is what I heard from my family and it is amazing to say that the words that I use to start this text make me have a change of heart, and it was because they were said by a lawyer that though that being a teacher was the best experience of her life.  

Sheila Arana was always a responsible and dedicated student who stood out for her effort and desire to learn, and that was why, while she was in her school in Cajamarca, she was chosen to attend the prestigious school Mayor President in Lima. It was there were she met Marcia Rivas (PEP 2011-2012), while Marcia was her teacher in senior year. They shared more than the courses and works, they formed a friendship based on respect and inspiration. For Marcia, Sheila became one of the reasons that reaffirm her commitment to education and for Sheila, Marcia was a key in making the decision to pursue her dream.

At the end of the school year Sheila told Marcia that she entered the National University of Trujillo and that she would study Education despite of the option of studying another career that was "better remunerated and valued". She also told Marcia that she was decided become a PEP, as Marcia was. They didn’t lost contact.

The years passed and at the end of 2016 Marcia, lawyer of profession and teacher of heart, was appointed Director General of the General Directorate of Specialized Educational Services in MINEDU. Sheila finished her career being the first of its class and convinced to apply to the program of Enseña Perú. One day in December, while Marcia was getting out of her office, she received a call from Sheila, where she told her that she had passed the selection process of Enseña Perú. "Teacher, I did it, I'm going to be PEP!", Sheyla told her. She was already part of the movement, now a member of the eighth cohort of PEPs. Sheyla thanked her because she felt she had been one of the people who inspired her to continue and achieve one of her dreams. Sheyla became the first second-generation PEP, the first ex-student of a PEP being a PEP!

“Now I will teach first grade in Santa Cruz de Mosna, a small village two and a half hours from the city of Huaráz, at 3200 meters above sea level, where there is no radio signal and the internet is very slow. A place that inspires me to work for the education of my country and were I have arrived with a backpack full of emotions and desires to continue learning. Two hard and wonderful years wait for me.” – Sheyla Arana.

Links:

• Learn more about Marcia Rivas

Thank you for your donations! Due to your generous contributions, Enseña Perú has been able to keep growing and reach more students. This year we have 111 Professionals of Enseña Perú in nine regions. Although the start of the school year has been rough, our PEP’s have been able to adapt to the circumstances and help the areas that were affected by the natural disasters. Perú suffered, for several weeks, heavy rains and the overflow of multiple rivers. This lead to devastating floods and mudslides in seven regions, all located on the coast of the country. More than 100 civilians died, 141 860 were injured and towns were declared in state of emergency. Also, in some cases, entire roads and bridges were destroyed by the mudslides leaving areas of Peru uncommunicated.

In this context, some of our Professionals of Enseña Perú were in the regions affected, but they are save. Sometimes the schools are located in rural areas, which meant that the damaged roads left them isolated. Also, the risk of mudslides forced them to evacuate the sector. Even though the situation was dangerous their connection with the town population was stronger, so many of them decided to stay and help to organize donations. By far, this has been the most complex start of the year in our 8 years of foundation. Images and news around the country are, at times, overwhelming. The beginning of the school year was postponed one month and in some provinces, almost two Moments such as these touch the lives of people and whole communities, so one of our PEP’s saw these events as an opportunity teach his students about prevention of natural disasters.

Our PEP Víctor, teacher and tutor of 4th grade of elementary school Fernando Belaunde Terry, in Callao, prepared activities that allowed his students to express their concerns and doubts, creating a space for reflection. The class, entitled "A Single Strength", was divided into three parts. They began by reading the news, made a list of actions to be taken in the case of a natural disaster and ended with a drawing in which they could express how they felt. This experience awakened a series of emotions in Victor’s students and was an opportunity to raise awareness, through education, to the following generations of the importance of the subject for thousands of Peruvians. This way, the Professionals of Enseña Perú are able to make a great impact on the life of more Peruvian children enhancing their learning and strengthening their academic growth.