In the central highlands of Peru, nestled between Jauja and Huancayo, lies the small town of Muquiyauyo. With a population of around 3,000 people, this picturesque community rests on the banks of the Mantaro River, formed by melting glaciers high in the Andes. Children attend the Muquiyauyo public school, where technology for rural education had been scarce or nonexistent until recently.
Ana Goldstein and TrueLanguage Help Out
Ana Goldstein, currently an ESOL teacher in Statesboro, Georgia and a Muquiyauyo public school alum, made it her mission to raise funds to increase the students’ access to technology in their school. TrueLanguage heard about Ana’s efforts through her husband, our resource coordinator Joe Goldstein, and wanted to help out. As a company centered around work with international communities, we couldn’t pass up on the opportunity to help enhance the education of the Muquiyauyo children.
So, not too long ago, a fellow classmate from the Muquiyauyo school reached out to Ana on Facebook. She asked Ana to join their class’s Facebook page. While reminiscing about their school days, the classmates decided to contribute to helping out the students. Accordingly, Ana and her peers began to plan out how they would help update the school’s technology. They also considered building a cafeteria and a fence around the school’s patio. The group coordinated their efforts with the Parents’ Association Committee for the school. They similarly collaborated with school administrators. Everyone communicated through WhatsApp, emails, and phone calls.
In October of 2020, Ana began raising funds for the school. Fortunately, several interested contributors in the USA donated to her endeavors, including TrueLanguage. These funds went directly to purchasing laptops and projectors for the eight classrooms in the school.
A Visit to Muquiyauyo
In December of 2020, Ana decided she would make the trip to Muquiyauyo by herself to deliver the technology. As a consequence, a laptop, two mini-projectors, and one large projector are now helping aid the students’ learning. Thanks to this newly acquired technology, the teachers will be able to enhance the learning of their students. This will provide them with technological advances they had not had previously. Ultimately, Ana would like to raise enough funds to purchase 7 additional laptops and 5 additional projectors. Hopefully, these would be enough to provide each of the 8 classrooms in the school with their own laptop and projector.
The efforts of Ana and her classmates to provide technology for rural education will benefit the 60 or so students in the school. This will open access to enhanced learning opportunities equal to those provided in the nearby urban communities. And, thanks to a generous donor, the school will have a cafeteria for the students to eat their lunches during the school day. Nonetheless, the group is still in need of more donations so they can provide additional resources. These would be directed toward the remaining classrooms and for building the fence around the school’s patio.
We wish Ana and her fellow alums the best as they continue their efforts to serve the needs of their alma mater. Likewise, we look forward to being updated on future developments.
