Yutzupino School

Facts

-          Community: Yutzupino

-          Nearest city: Tena (14km)

-          Province: Napo

-          Number of students: 23

-          Age range: 5-12

-          Number of teachers: 1

-          Number of people in community: 145

-          Average income per person: $100-120 per month

Brief History

Yutzupino School is in the community of Yutzupino, situated in the province of Napo, Ecuador. The community is a 30 minute bus ride north from the city of Tena, and is located south of the Jerusaleny community below Talag, east of the river Napo and west of the village of Pano. It is possible to get to the community by car or by foot via a small road that leads to the school. The community has 145 members and they make their living through agriculture, fishing and mining on a very small scale. Their mother tongue is Quichwa and Spanish is the second language.

The idea to create a school began in 1984. At this point the children of the community had to travel 4 kilometres to the small village of Puerto Napo, then a further 10 kilometres to the city of Tena in order to study each day. In 1985 the school was built, consisting of a small concrete classroom with a straw roof. The school started with 28 children and one teacher.

The parents have very limited financial resources; most are farmers and only earn $100-120 a month. This has to pay for everything, including the education of their children, healthcare, clothing and general living.

Today the school has 23 students and one teacher, who has to teach all the children despite all being at different levels.

What we’ve done so far:

On September 1st 2008, in conjunction with another organisation “ninosdeloriente”, $150 dollars was raised to buy materials required by the children for the beginning of the school year. The materials included exercise books, pens, pencils, colouring pencils and rubbers.

$410 dollars was raised by Helen Ashdown and friends through a fundraising event in England in August 2008. On September 27th 2008 a group of volunteers went to the school and along with parents of the children helped to paint the school, put electricity in and carry out other essential maintenance work.

The money was spent on the following:

-          Labour and materials to put electricity into the school, including light and electricity sockets

-          Materials to paint the whole school, exterior and interior walls and the window frames

-          Concrete blocks for construction

-          Labour to maintain the walls of the school

-          A rubbish bin for the school

Materials to mend the roof