The School in Canacota, Peru

I want to post something about the incredible school we are working in currently. The school is located about forty minutes by packed shuttle ride above Chivay where we live. The elevation in Chivay is around 3,6000 meters and Canacota has an elevation of around 3,700 meters. I must admit, playing with the kids: futbol, basketball, wrestling, tag involves some serious respiration! The kids call me Profe Gigante, Giant Teacher, and I love the little buggers so much! The school is very rural and there are around 25 kids in the 1st through 6th grades. I am teaching the 5th and 6th graders and they are brilliant. There are seven kids in the class between the two grades and I can basically make them laugh at will and it must be pretty easy to laugh at the big, white, shaven headed gringo! Yes, shaved head. We tend to get a little bored in remote Chivay and all of my fellow volunteers took turns chopping off my lovely locks. Gil was the main perpetrator and I was left with a very, very bald head. Pictures to follow! Anyway, back to the school. There are two local teachers in our school along with a teacher for the inicial which is a pre-school program across the street. I teach with Rogerlio who happens to be the school director as well. He is hands down, the finest local teacher I have worked with yet. You hear and see at times, many examples of teachers who use power and control and negative epiteths to control kids in the classroom. Rogerlio is right up my ally: passionate to the point of yelling about topics such as history or math, energetic, encouraging, funny, and compassionate. He loves the kids and he has told us he has been rejuvenated with the help he receives from us. We are the first group of volunteers in this school and once again, it is amazing to have been among the first in two schools in Ecuador and Peru! Rogerlio will usually introduce a lesson and then I will work with the kids on worksheets and assignments. It is a lot of fun and I always have to mix in some jokes or funny faces with the kids. The kids are very, very smart and have amazing abilities; abilities I hope can flourish despite their economic status and their rural location. Also, given the communities remote location, the government of Peru has "forgotten" about the school and does not provide funding or support. This is very upsetting to Rogerlio and the other teachers but this is what makes GVI´s involvement that much more important. Further, while we have been here, the community and GVI has implemented a food program for the kids. Each day, the kids receive milk and cookie-crackers and then receive a very nutricious lunch after school ends each day. It is so nice to see the kids enjoying their food and many take leftovers home to their families each day. Also, the kids here are athletic, especially the older girls. I have been teaching some fundamentals of basketball to some of the girls and boys and they eat it up and are really taking the lessons to heart. Anway, very sad to leave the kids and this school soon. It will hit me double hard as this is my last GVI school and project! I will post some pictures for everyone soon when I´m able. Take care!