HOW TO HELP:
Help us build schools

Just three hundred miles south of the United States border, thousands of indigenous Tarahumara and Tepehuan children have no access to education.

• Sixty-nine percent of all Tarahumara over age fifteen are illiterate—and many more in the areas where we work.
• Ninety-one percent of the indigenous peoples of the Sierra have not completed primary school.
• In Pino Gordo, two hundred children are unable to attend school because they live too far to walk there every day, and the existing school has no dormitories or cafeteria.
• The Tarahumara and Tepehuan indigenous are Mexico’s poorest people. Education and water development are their highest priorities.

A Capital Campaign to Construct Primary Schools and Adult Education Centers

Thousands of indigenous children and illiterate adults in the Sierra have no access to education.

Responding to the community’s request for bilingual education, Sierra Madre Alliance announces the first phase of a $325,000 campaign to expand the primary school in the indigenous pueblo of Pino Gordo and construct an adult education center in nearby Baborigame. Funding will cover construction costs and the development of bilingual (Spanish/Rarámuri or Spanish/Odami) curriculum.

This is a remote region, which receives little or no government assistance; a community–NGO–private source initiative is necessary to catalyze the government into action. Once we receive the initial $50,000, we will begin construction on the Pino Gordo School, which will enable seventy children to attend school.

Binational Campaign Goal: $325,000 to benefit 228 children and 1,200 adults over age 15.

Once construction starts, the communities are eligible for government-paid teaching staff and educational materials, as well as other support from Mexican government agencies, including the Department of Public Education (in Spanish, SEP), the National Institute for Adult Education (INEA), the National Indigenous Institute (INI), and the Agency for the Development of the Family (DIF). Once we receive $50,000, we begin Phase I construction.

Plan of Action

We already have the plans for the school expansion, which were drawn up by local architects who volunteered their expertise. The schools will be built with the help of community volunteers, using local adobe and wood and will include solar electricity and hot water, composting toilets and other environmentally sound building techniques.

Phase One: Expansion of existing Pino Gordo Primary School

• $50,000 Construction (materials and labor)
• $5,000 Food and medical aid for community volunteer workers
• $15,000 Development of culturally appropriate, bilingual (Spanish/Rarámuri) curriculum; educational materials; equipment
• $15,000 Administration, technical support, overhead
• Total $85,000
• Impact: Phase I will enable seventy children to attend school.

Phase Two: Adult Education Center in Baborigame

• $50,000 Construction (materials and labor)
• $5,000 Food and medical aid for community volunteer workers
• $15,000 Development of culturally appropriate, bilingual (Spanish/Odami) curriculum; educational materials; equipment
• $15,000 Administration, technical support, overhead
• Total $85,000
• Impact: Phase II will provide access to education for 1,200 indigenous adults.

Phase Three: Expansion of Pino Gordo School, Including Adult Education Facilities

• $100,000 Construction (materials and labor)
• $5,000 Food and medical aid for community volunteer workers
• $25,000 Development of culturally appropriate, bilingual (Spanish/Rarámuri) curriculum; educational materials; equipment
• $25,000 Administration, technical support, overhead
• Total $155,000
• Impact: Phase III will provide access to education for 228 children and three hundred adults.

Won't you Help Us?

Please make a tax-deductible donation today.

Send a check: Sierra Madre Alliance Post Office Box 41416 Tucson, Arizona 85717

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