Join Us To Build An Indigenous Student Centre In the Amazon

We are deeply excited to share with you the launch of our new fundraising campaign to build an indigenous student centre in the Peruvian Amazon. In partnership with local indigenous student organization OEPIAP, we are working to make a long-time dream of over 120 youth from 13 Amazonian peoples come true.

Having left their far away communities to study in Iquitos, indigenous students face multiple challenges and hardships. Building an indigenous student centre will guarantee their basic necessities and living conditions, and provide tools to adequately pursue higher education in the Iquitos city.

To make the students’ dream come true, we need your help. We have been selected by the GlobalGiving Foundation to participate in its Accelerator, a fundraising opportunity for nonprofits around the world. This is an incredibly exciting opportunity but in order to succeed, we must raise $5,000 from 40 donors by 31st March 2017. If we meet this threshold, we will be permanently featured on GlobalGiving’s website, where we have the potential to benefit from corporate relationships, connect with new donors, and access online fundraising tools. Additionally, we could earn bonus prizes from GlobalGiving for raising the most money.

Please help us reach the threshold of $5,000 from 40 donors! Be one of the first people to make a donation! We’re also going to need your help spreading the word! Please share this opportunity with your friends and family!

The Challenge

Access to higher education is very difficult in Peru’s Loreto region: 43% of Loreto’s youth finishing high school and only 11% of those students being able to begin higher education. As an indigenous student, the hardships are all the greater due to their lack of financial resources, lower educational entry level, and the lack of intercultural sensitivity from the university. Basic services such as accommodation and study spaces are inadequately provided for by the university.

A view on the temporary centre of OEPIAP. The small pre-fabricated ‘bungalows’ serve as both living and study spaces. Their design was conceived for the colder weather of the Peruvian coast. In the tropical climate of the Amazon, the aluminium roofs create an unbearable heat

Solution

The construction of a dedicated and permanent indigenous student centre will serve as a base for indigenous students in the city, providing adequate studying and living conditions. These headquarters will also empower OEPIAP to strengthen its management and strategic development as an organization, thus leading to more opportunities and therefore more success for indigenous youth who are the future of the Amazon.

Long-Term Impact

Individually, students will reach their potential as professionals, and be empowered to work in the city or to return home and support their communities. Collectively, the empowerment of OEPIAP will pave the way for future generations of indigenous youth to progress on to higher education. This cultivates a vital community supporting the next generation of indigenous professionals and leaders who will become key advocates for their rights and culture throughout the Amazon and beyond.

Want to help and make a difference? JOIN US to Build an Indigenous Student Centre in the Amazon:

• Donate to the campaign – whether it’s a small or large contribution, everything helps! You’ll receive a lovely thank you letter and special updates as the project progresses
• Help us to get the word out! Share the campaign to your networks, friends and family