Development through Empowerment, Empowerment through Education
Community Ascent Network is a registered Canadian Charity
OUR PROJECT IN PIÑÁN
Our organization was founded to work with the rural community of Piñán in the North of Ecuador.
The project mission is for Piñán to have complete, local access to education, from primary to post-secondary. This includes all of the necessary educational infrastructure in their own community: teachers, supplies, curricula and classrooms.
Our project was created with the community to help them confront one of their biggest concerns: There was no access to education in their community beyond primary school.
PROJECT GOALS
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Help Piñán build their first high school by providing the funding, coordination and materials for the construction.
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Work with the local school board to a) bring more qualified teachers to the community to improve their quality of education, and b) to have them authorize a full high school curriculum in Piñán.
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Provide Piñán's school with a computer lab and internet connection to improve the quality of education and fulfill modern curricular needs.
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Offer graduates from the community with the opportunity to pursue post-secondary education.
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Offer a volunteer based English teaching program which will be included in their high-school curriculum. English will be an essential skill for Piñán’s vision of creating sustainable tourism in their community.
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Develop specific career based programs that will help the community in creating local jobs and building a sustainable future. Specifically, Eco-Tourism and Guiding, as well as a sustainable agriculture are interests which have been identified by the community and students.
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WHAT WE'VE ACHIEVED
It's been 5 years since embarking on this project with Piñán and we've already achieved many of the goals set out from the start. These are some of our biggest achievements so far:
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In September, 2019 we hired 3 full time teachers so that high school classes in Piñán could begin.
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A new classroom was built to expand classroom space and was equipped with computers and a projector.
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An internet connection was established for the school and community.
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With much help from our donors and community members in Piñán, a spacious high school classroom was built from local sustainable materials. Designs were created by donation from the University of Azuay.
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In September of 2020, an agreement of collaboration was signed between the local School District, our organization and the community of Piñán, authorizing a complete and ongoing high school program.
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Our volunteer English programs began in the community in 2020. So far 4 different volunteers have visited or lived in Piñán to deliver classes at the school.
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In 2021, Piñán's first-ever class students graduated from high school! Since then, the classes of 2022 and 2023 have also completed their graduation with 2024 on their way!
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In 2023 six students applied and were accepted to university and college programs in which they are now enrolled.
THE COMMUNITY OF PIÑÁN
Piñán is a small village located high up in the northern Andes of Ecuador. The community is made up of about 220 people or 40 families who are descendants of the Kichwa Indigenous peoples of the area.
The community has a unique culture as highland ranchers, masterful in horsemanship and living in close relationship with the paramo grasslands and surrounding environment.
During the early colonial era, the ancestors of these families were forced to settle on the current site where the village lies to serve as peasant workers to the colonial ranch, La Hacienda Piñán. The community finally associated independently in recent decades, however the land on which they live is still owned by the hacienda. Piñán is one of the last communities in Ecuador still affected this way by the colonial haciendas.
The villagers are not able to develop agriculture or graze animals on the land around their village, and as such livelihoods are scarce and poverty is starkly present. Consequently no one in the community has ever been able to study or graduate from basic schooling in this community.
The remoteness and lack of any opportunities in their village means that most people have to leave to find jobs for months at a time or sometimes permanently. This is what the approximately 200 youth living there are facing in their future right now.
But we now have an opportunity to change this...
SO WHAT DIFFERENCE CAN WE MAKE?
Access to high school for all youth and supporting the students through career development programs and university studies are the first steps to making a difference.
Through this work we can help to empower these youth and their families in achieving their community's and their own goals. With your support and ours they will be able to work toward developing sustainable industry and jobs in their own village.
The community's vision is to work with their surrounding environment to create a sustainable, community-run tourism business that can create jobs to benefit the whole village. Additionally they hope to learn to develop small agricultural ventures that will bring more jobs and as well as serving as their own sustainable source of food.
Education is the first step toward reaching all of these goals and we are very excited to work alongside Piñán, with your help so they can take life-changing steps in their community.
GET IN TOUCH!
Interested in getting involved as a volunteer?
Have an idea for a project or fundraiser?
We'd love to hear from you.
250-505-9071 (Canada) / 0967621177 Whatsapp