Transform Education in El Salvador

This year 2023, we are celebrating 15 years of Amún Shéa existence. That’s right–15 (10 + 5) years! Fifteen years of reimagining rural education. Fifteen years of challenging the status quo. Fifteen years of shaking up the educational system. Fifteen years of seeing children and youth as #changemakers and providing the tools for critical thinking and real-world application. Fifteen years of working alongside families and communities in Northern Morazán, El Salvador. To celebrate, we are focusing on four main priorities this year:

• Enrich our early childhood education program, Semillas. We’ve created a project profile for this very effort here on GlobalGiving. Here’s the link to learn more: SUPPORT EARLY LEARNING
• Develop a socio-emotional well-being initiative. More details to come throughout the summer! 
• Enhance our English program. We have an awesome English teacher on staff and are committed to providing the necessary support so that our students in all grade levels will flourish! 
• Implement an impact evaluation to help us better tell the stories of Amún Shéa and the rural Salvadoran communities that form our DNA, identify areas for improvement, and highlight our strengths. This will be a major task, but a very necessary one! We look forward to sharing the results with you in the future. 

If you would like to help more tangibly with any of the four priorities, please let us know by sending us an email at learn@peofoundation.org. We are also preparing to participate in GlobalGiving's July Bonus Day and ask for a $1000 pledge from anyone able and willing to give. The funds generated will go directly to one of the four listed priorities.  Contact us for more information. 

We currently have 90 students enrolled this year, and we are having a fantastic school year so far. From fishing trips and student council elections to Earth and Water Day celebrations and lots of suspenseful chess games–we have an active year in play! Be sure to follow our school’s Facebook page to see our weekly updates with photos HERE. 

Please subscribe to our newsletter and read the latest editions for further details about what's happening at Amún Shéa. See the links below to the latest editions. 

Cheers to fifteen years of joy, laughter, and learning, and here's to fifteen years and more to come! Thank you for making this work and positive change possible. 

Check out some of our favorite photos from the year so far :)

Links:

• Newsletter about the school fishing trip!
• Our latest newsletter from April 2023
• Subscribe to our newsletter

Happy new year, dear friend.

Another successful school year has ended at Amún Shéa. Our students, teachers, and staff are on vacation. And with the year of 2023 just beginning, we look ahead and think about all of the possibilities for this new year: new lessons, new partnerships, and even new field trips and so much more. 

The pandemic caused by COVID-19 made clear to us the need to improve the education system around the world. Here in Northern Morazán of El Salvador at Amún Shéa Center for Integrated Development is where we work to make a difference and provide quality education to our students. Amún Shéa is an educational center that strives to transform and positively impact public education and develop competencies and life skills in children and youth. In 2023, our mission continues--there is surely work to be done!

But before we look too far ahead, let's take a moment to review some highlights from 2022. 

• Throughout the year, in true Amún Shéa fashion, our students and teachers made science happen in real life at the Dr. William Brinker laboratory. We're talking cheese, wine, fungi, and vanilla, too! Here's the deal: The national dairy market depends on the pharmaceutical market to curdle milk and produce milk derivatives. At Amún Shéa, our students have researched a natural lemon-based substitute for curdling milk and making curd, cheese, and yogurt, with excellent results and, best of all, without the use of chemicals, thus improving the quality of nutrition. The objective is to provide an alternative to our dairy producers and processors in the territory without dependence on the market for the acquisition of the curdling agent. Pretty cool, right?
• For the first time ever, Amún Shéa students participated in the global School Enterprise Challenge. The School Enterprise Challenge is run by the Teach a Man to Fish organization and encourages students all around the world to develop new skills through planning and running a business. This challenge aligns perfectly with what our students already do at Amún Shéa.
• In the months of September, October, and November, Amún Shéa students were present and active in various community and institutional celebrations, like the town's parade for El Salvador's 201st year of Independence. There was dancing, marching, and smiles abound! Or like the commemoration of World Peace Day. Students recited poems, shared personal reflections, and created artistic tributes in honor of a peaceful world. Did you know that creating a culture of peace is a core pillar of our mission at Amún Shéa? World Peace Day is every day of the year for us. 

It is safe to say that all throughout the year, Amún Shéa teachers, students, and staff were busy on the ground, making quality rural education happen every day!

Did you know that a healthy operation of Amún Shéa school currently requires $10,000 per month? That amount allows us to 1) provide meals for our students, 2) pay our teachers and staff a fair and dignified wage, 3) supply our classrooms with learning resources and tools, 4) keep our school campus site clean and healthy, and so much more.

With your continued financial support, we can keep this life-changing education going in rural El Salvador. Please consider becoming a monthly donor or making a generous one-time donation today.

Be sure to follow us on Facebook and check out our website. 

Mil gracias. Many thanks. 

Links:

• Visit our website
• Subscribe to our newsletter
• Amun Shea Facebook page