SMA PROGRAMS: COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT:
Tarahumara Primary School

One of the most disturbing realities of the Sierra Tarahumara is that only three hundred miles south of the U.S. border, thousands of indigenous children have no access to school. In Pino Gordo, over three hundred school-aged children and illiterate teens are unable to attend school because they live too far to walk there every day, and in the closest school, there are no dormitories, no cafeteria, no food, insufficient classroom space, only one teacher, and almost no supplies. Fewer than twenty children are able to attend school regularly. This pattern is repeated in dozens of pueblos throughout the Sierra, especially in the Guadalupe y Calvo area.

Last year, Pino Gordo prioritized bilingual education as the most important development objective. Volunteer architects designed facilities to house and educate over 180 children and Consejo EcoRegional Sierra Tarahumara A.C. applied for funding for the project. To date, federal funding has not been approved, as Raúl Aguirre has attempted to undermine the project. It is suspected that political leaders from neighboring Coloradas de los Chavez are also attempting to block the project. SMA, EcoLogic and Consejo EcoRegional Sierra Tarahumara A.C. continue to raise funds and awareness and plan to begin construction in 2004.