Our goals for 2021
Continuing actual classes during the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic with our six local Phoenix teachers, increasing the food program and implementing sustainable plans for the local families.
It is generally accepted that the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic will affect us all for months and possibly years to come. Over the long-term we aim to provide hand sanitizer and supplies of soap for all our students for when they enter and leave the school each day to reassure parents that it is a safe place and also to reduce the chance of bringing the virus into the school and taking the virus back home and potentially afflicting the elderly.
For information about our 2022 Charity Challenges, including our volcano challenge in Ecuador and the Inca Trail in Perú, please follow this link.
Please donate here to our 2021 Appeal which is raising money to help cover project costs including local teachers’ salaries, classroom materials, Covid-19 hygiene programmes and sustainable income plans.
How we are achieving our goals:
December 2021
We celebrated Christmas with food and traditional dances for the youngest to the oldest in all four communities.
For those elderly who were unable to make it to the school, plates of food which included pork, potatos and beans, were taken to their houses by family members.
A great day in stark contrast to a year ago.
The school is now closed for the half-term and Christmas holidays and classes with resume in January.
The parents held a minga to undertake maintenance of the school, including the toilets’ roof followed by a well-earned pampa mesa. We plan to spend more on maintenance of the school in 2022 and obviously keep it as biosecure as we can when classes start back up.
November 2021
The children were vaccinated with their first dose at the start of the month and received their second dose in the final week with the aim to restart regular classes in 2022. Classes continued on a staggered basis.
October 2021
We provided all the ingredients for the mothers to make the fruit-based colada morada and woodoven-baked bread to celebrate the upcoming Day of the Dead in the school. All the children are due to be vaccinated by the end of the month.
The new parent committee was voted in. Their role is critical for communication between the school and the communities especially with health protocols during the pandemic, sustainable plan implementation and decision-making.
Staggered lessons continued three times a week in the classrooms. The students are due to be vaccinated next month with the hope to return to full classrooms in December or January. We have continued to supply hygiene products and make sure that protocols are adhered to each day.
September 2021
Covid protocols are publicised in both Kichwa and Spanish, as well as orally, so everyone knows the school is doing all it can to remain a safe place for in-person teaching.
Kulla Raymi was celebrated, giving thanks to Pachamama (Mother Earth) ahead of the upcoming sowing period. The tradition includes dancing, pampa mesa (communal food) and offerings representing water, earth, fire and air.
Staggered classes get back underway for the new school year with our seven local Phoenix teachers, three of whom we help with their University costs. Meetings with the parents to discuss how the lessons will resume under biosecure guidelines were undertaken and we have purchased plenty of hygiene products to keep the classrooms as safe as possible.
August 2021
The new school year restarts towards the end of August. Work on building the pig pens for our Plan Chancho, Plan Huerta and Plan Pollo continues to provide long-term income for the elderly population for emergency supplies.
June 2021
Staggered classroom-based teaching continued during June culminating in the graduations celebrating the end of a distruptive school year – a tribute to our local teachers.
They will continue to head up to the communities during July to help those children who fell behind and prepare them for the new school year in a couple of months.
The implementation of the communal sustainable plans to provide regular income for emergency supplies for the elderly and vulnerable continued with Plan Pollo and Plan Chancho with the building of the pig pens.
To celebrate Day of the Child we brought cake for the children to eat at home. Once it is safe to do so we will celebrate properly in the school.
May 2021
With classes being held sporadically and with different grades per day due to Covid restrictions we took advantage of the “empty” school to do some maintenance, including a new paint-job.
We started a communal sustainable plan, involving Plan Pollo, Plan Cuy and chanchos (pigs) which will provide regular income for emergency supplies over the coming months, particularly for the elderly and vulnerable.
April 2021
The Easter Fanesca (traditional bean and potato-based soup) was somewhat different this year in Ecuador due to bans on communal meetings.
We purchased the ingredients so the Fanesca could be made in the school by our local teachers and some mothers which was then taken back home in pots so the families could enjoy it together with their elderly relatives
March 2021
The Ministry of Health visited the school and gave the official green light for classes to be delivered in-person a couple of days a week thanks to all the protocols we have put in place. Previously the parents gave their consent for classrooms to be open.
As a thank you for all the local teachers’ hard work during the pandemic we paid for them to have a day out on Lake San Pablo followed by a typical lunch!
The annual Pawkar Raymi was celebrated, giving thanks to Pachamama (Mother Earth) for the crops.
February 2021
The local doctors came to the school to give socially distanced talks to the children and the parents about keeping safe during the Covid-19 pandemic. We continue to purchase hygiene products to keep the classrooms as safe as possible when the children come in twice a week.
January 2021
Classroom-based teaching continues a couple of days a week with the local teachers heading up into the community and leaving homework and explaining future topics. Three of our local teachers live in the communities themselves so can help out when the school is closed.
December 2020
The children managed to celebrate Christmas in the school, albeit on a small scale, as limited classes came to a close for the first half of the year.
It is hoped that when classes resume in January the local teachers will be able to teach three days a week as we continue to provide hand gels, footbaths and disinfectants. Three of our local teachers live in the communities themselves so can help out on the days that school is closed.
November 2020
To celebrate Day of the Dead the mothers prepared the traditional colada morada for the children, made from corn and fruits.
October 2020
Thanks to the Appeal we purchased protective clothing for the teachers to wear as they travel to and from the school up in the mountains to try and prevent the virus spreading into the rural communities.
We also purchased bio-secure items including gels, soaps and sprays for when the children enter the classrooms as well as some food as part of our emergency supply program.
September 2020
The new school year starts up again with classes due to be held on Mondays and Fridays with work set for during the week. We are taking on two new local teachers, ex-students, bringing the total to three Phoenix local teachers (six in total) who live in the communities themselves and who can help with day to day homework.
Almost two tonnes of emergency food was provided in our four communities with priority given to the elderly and disabled. The supplies included rice, pasta, cooking oil, oatmeal, sardines, salt and face masks. We plan to do further emergency food drops over the coming months whilst the Covid-19 pandemic continues to restrict movement.
August 2020
We will be providing emergency food drops for the communities, especially the elderly, over the next few weeks due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
July 2020
Thanks to the brilliant effort by the local teachers providing weekly homework, all the students graduated from primary school despite being closed since March. There was a small graduation party with the parents and the obligatory social distancing and hand-washing was respected on entering the school! The new school year restarts in August.
June 2020
With the school still closed due to Covid-19 our local teachers are heading up into the mountains to the communities (3,500m/11,500 feet) once a week to set homework and answer any questions.
Despite the country lock-down the potato harvest still goes ahead. We are also trialling family vegetable gardens as part of our sustainable Plan Huerta. These will allow the families to have constant produce (therefore food) as well as extra to sell.
May 2020
Following beliefs passed through the generations the families in the communities burn certain plants and herbs including eucalyptus, laurel, rue, marco and incense by their doors and windows in the late afternoons to protect their homes from illness.
April 2020
Classes continue working from home with the school remaining shut. David, who lives in the community, can help out with the homework and what the children need to do (at a distance!).
March 2020
David, one of our Phoenix teachers who lives in the community up in the mountains, has been disinfecting the whole school whilst the children are away.
The parents in the communities had a meeting to discuss our reforestation program as part of the Charity Challenge in June when we will be planting 1,000 trees to protect the natural spring which is the main water source for many families.
Classes were suspended until further notice due to Covid 19.
February 2020
The third set of exams we taken and to celebrate the children from 4th to 7th grade enjoyed a day at Peguche waterfall with lots of swimming and Pampa Mesa (communal food).
A trial Plan Pollo was started as part of the children’s food at the school. This program will be expanded over the coming months.
January 2020
Welcoming in the New Year we paid for the teachers’ end of year celebratory meal (we currently pay for four Phoenix teachers). Phoenix teacher David has been teaching 6th grade intricate weaving techniques.
December 2019
We once again celebrated the community Christmas party for the youngest to the oldest with plenty of food and traditional dance. School gets back underway in January.
November 2019
School elections were held which included school cleanliness and the environment being top of the agenda.
Phoenix teacher David was in charge of teaching the little ones how to make bread to celebrate Day of the Dead and colada morada with some interesting results!
As well as our Phoenix teachers, Zoila is still a very important member of the teaching staff having moved from Huayrapungo when the government closed the school there a few years back.
Work started on converting a piece of land behind the school into a sports area. The parents got together for a minga to start preparing the area.
October 2019
Work continued installing piping into the school for fresh water.
Due to the potential increased transport costs following the Government’s decision to cancel fuel subsidies we have set up a monthly fund for all the teachers so they will be able to travel each day up into the mountains where we work.
September 2019
The new school year gets underway with the traditional ceremony of flowers and gifts with the parents and the students. The head of education of the area was in attendance.
August 2019
With the school off for holidays we are undertaking maintenance, including adding water piping into the school and the community is busy laying pipes for their houses in the communities.
July 2019
The end of the school year until September included graduations and our first trip to the beach with the graduating students and their parents which was an experience for all!
June 2019
June is Inti Raymi month celebrating the sun (Inti). The children and the community got involved with dance and tradition. With exams coming next month there was a lot of last minute study! We also paid for the transport to school exchange in Montufar where the children got to meet other students in the area.
Well done and a huge thank you to our charity challengers who scaled Imbabura and Fuya Fuya and circumnavigated Lake Cuicocha with the local families and teachers. We’re doing it all again in 2020 – for information please follow this link!
May 2019
Mother’s Day was celebrated and in a week of incredible European football the mums raised the tempo even further in their football match! Lots of dance, including La Bomba de Chota, food and games to celebrate their well-deserved day!
April 2019
Each Easter the traditional Fanesca (a soup made from different types of beans, dried fish and boiled eggs) is served in the school. This year we shared responsibilities with the parents in buying the ingredients and the mothers cooked an amazing feast.
Our local Phoenix teacher David spends time with the parents whenever there is a community meeting to talk about literacy and numeracy. Many parents have difficulties with these simple rights, especially the older generations.
March 2019
Pawkar Raymi was celebrated, thanking Pachamama (Mother Earth) for the first crops of the year (which are then eaten communally!). More community meetings were held to talk about the school, sustainable plans and the future as our local Phoenix teachers continued to excel.
February 2019
As part of the science curriculum the children learned about natural disinfectants as well as working in the school vegetable garden.
January 2019
Classes get back underway for the second half of the school year with local Phoenix teacher David getting stuck in. Due to the remoteness of the school we have started paying for internet access to improve the education for both the children and the teachers.
December 2018
Bringing the year to an end the community celebrated Kapak Raymi where soil is placed on recently sown seeds, asking Pachamama (Mother Earth) for a good crop in 2019.
For the first time ever we celebrated a Christmas party including all the children, parents and grand-parents from Muenala, Huayrapungo, Achupallas and Urcusiqui. Lots of games, food and most importantly, laughter!
The minga went ahead with all the parents turning up a 7am ready to paint the whole school. Phoenix purchased the paint and they put in the hours until it was all done, finished up with an excellent pampa mesa to celebrate!
Parent meeting in Urcusiqui to discuss the upcoming minga (community work) to paint the school and Christmas party which this year will involve the youngest to the oldest! Sustainable plans were also discussed to begin implementation during 2019.
November 2018
One of the biggest traditions of the year was celebrated this month, the Day of the Dead, with colada morada (a blackberry and fruit-based hot drink) and guagas de pan (the elaboration of different shaped breads) which are then shared between the children and the community.
October 2018
The children and teachers took part in the Baile Cayambeño wearing the traditional dress from Cayambe. New Phoenix teacher Cristian donned his traditional mask!
Much of this month’s curriculum has been learning about Natural Disasters, their inherent risks and how to avoid them – the children got quite artistic and as part of next year’s Ecuador Challenge in June we hope to reforest some of the surrounding area.
September 2018
School got off to a great start with new Phoenix Teacher Cristian joining David in the ranks. We plan to paint the whole school in the coming weeks as well as add to our sustainable plans.
During the parents’ meeting David gave a talk about health after which the teachers, parents and students shared Pampa Mesa, where everyone brings food which is shared around.
The children and teachers also celebrated Kuya Raymi (the fertility of the earth) marking the start of the growing season. This celebration has been passed down through the generations and combines with the September Equinox. Over the next few months we intend to expand our Plan Huerta sustainable plan with vegetable gardens for the school and the families.
And finally, the dates have been set for the Ecuador Volcano Challenge as part of the Phoenix Seven Continent Charity Challenge #5 (3rd-7th June 2019 – following on from the Machu Picchu Challenge in Perú the week before) and will include Imbabura, Fuya Fuya and a community hike around Lake Cuicocha.
August 2018
The teachers have spent the past two weeks preparing for the new school year starting in September and we are proud to announce we are adding another local teacher in our bid to reduce the teacher/class ratio which at present is one teacher for two classes.
The students in the primary school aren’t the only ones starting a new educational year. Many children are continuing their studies into secondary school, college and University thanks to our Sustainable Plans including Plan Moo and Plan Cuy which provide extra income to be able to cover these costs. We hope to expand these plans over the coming months and years to reach more families as well as introducing new plans including small businesses and different agricultural techniques.
It would be great if you could join us on our Inca Trail and Machu Picchu Seven Continents Charity Challenge in 2019 in Perú. Please follow this link for more details.
If you have any questions about our work in Ecuador or you want to receive our newsletter, please contact us.
