The educational community of Kusi Kawsay continues to grow and is continuing to nurture the seeds from the initial vision that came to life in 2008 when the first group of families in Pisac began the adventure of providing a better education for children and youth in the Sacred Valley of the Incas.
2014 was a momentous time of learning, of challenges, and of embracing new friends who are now an integral part of our greater Kusi Kawsay community
, not only in Peru but worldwide.
In this edition of the Newsletter, we would like to share with you the story of Faustino. He will graduate from Kusi Kawsay this year. He has taught us that perseverance and passion can go a long way in overcoming adversity. Also in this section of "shared stories" we present a new member of the Kusi Kawsay family: Marina Flevotomas, who is involved in a number of our projects.
Our extended family has grown a little more with the arrival of new babies. Shyntia Castaneda (Financial Coordinator), Lucia Ccana (Professor of Andean Weaving) as well as some mothers of Kusi Kawsay students gave birth to new sons and daughters.
One challenge this year has been to encourage and promote literacy and a passion for reading in our children and youth at Kusi Kawsay. We are putting all our efforts towards improving and expanding the Kusi Kawsay library
. These efforts are being led by René Franco Salas, one of the founding fathers of the school. Your support will help us in this great endeavor to increase and diversify materials available in our library.
In this newsletter we would like to tell you about the work of Pro Humanus, an invaluable ally of Kusi Kawsay. For the past three years, they have supported us through facilitating an ongoing training to our teachers so that they may achieve great results in educating a new generation.
We would also like to share with you a little of the history of our ancestors through a 5
th and 6
th grade field trip, where students visited and studied the chronicles of cave paintings in the community of Chawaytire - Pisac.
At the end of 2014, we performed a musical event in Cusco that was called "Our Roots.” This was a great opportunity to share our essence with the people of Cusco and to reiterate that we are on a path to generate awareness of cultural identity. This activity was also intended to raise funds for the educational project. Each year, our educational services and the number of students we serve increases. Because we do not want to deny students the opportunity to attend Kusi Kawsay, we are making great efforts towards continuing to share our vision of education. We invite you to be part of "Kusi Kawsay" and contribute financially so that we may continue to sow more seeds. You, our supporters, are a valued part of our community and thus are part of the whole of the fabric of what Kusi Kawsay represents. Donations are tax deductible and can be made to Pachamama's Path, online at
http://www.pachamamaspath.org/ or via check to 5543 Pelican Way, St. Augustine, FL 32080.
As you may know, the hummingbird or, in Quechua, the
‘quent’e, identifies our community
Kusi Kawsay (Happy Life in Quechua). Beginning with this Newsletter, our
Kusi hummingbird (Happy in Quechua) will share its adventures with all of us through the comical art of Hugo Franco Salas, Professor of Drawing and Painting. We hope you enjoy it.
On behalf of the Kusi Kawsay School,
Urpillay Sonqollay
kusikawsay.org
