Ñuu Savi Community School launches campaign to raise funds “Donate to resist and not migrate” – Noticias del Istmo, Oaxaca

#Oaxaca Dec 7 (#Istmopress) – Located in the Oaxacan Mixteca, in the community of Santa Cruz, in the municipality of San Juan Mixtepec, the Ñuu Savi “Lázaro Cárdenas” high school, founded in 2007, today requires social help to continue resisting and preventing their young people from immigrating to the United States or marrying at an early age.

With the motto “Education is forming beings capable of governing themselves and not of being governed”, this community educational institution is installed in the town house, a space provided by the local authorities.

In this community of Ñuu Savi (Mixtec) there are no high schools. The closest is an Agricultural Technological Baccalaureate Center (CBTA), which has not been an option for young people because it is located a long distance away. The creation of this community high school has been an opportunity for young people and a space for growth and reaffirmation of their identity as indigenous people.

The initiative to undertake this donation campaign and raise funds arose at the initiative of the teachers and the director, Marcelino Ramos Hernández, who arrived at this school five years ago and has seen a significant number of female and male students graduate.

“We decided to undertake this campaign so that our countrymen continue studying and progressing, throughout these 16 years about 100 young people have graduated, many of them already with other abilities, some decide to study university and others go to work with more knowledge and preparation”.

With the resource obtained, the teachers and directors intend to buy teaching materials and cover the basic needs of the institution to continue resisting, it is the only option they have, since the parents cooperate in tequios and community help.

By agreement of the assembly, the high school was installed in the Casa del Pueblo where three classrooms, an address and a library were set up that receives donated books every year.

The 7 teachers give tequio, that is, they do not charge a single cent for teaching the 11 students – 6 women and 5 men – who, in addition to attending classes, in the afternoon take care of goats, clean their plots and are planters of corn, beans and chile in the community plot.

Etymologies, reading and writing workshop, mathematics, physics, political and artistic sciences are some of the subjects that students take, in addition to doing their community practices, revaluing the customs and traditions of this Mixtec corner.

• You have curricular freedom *

Verónica Aguilar is a linguist and teacher at this preparatory school. For the teacher who teaches classes to fourth and fifth semester students, she highlights that there is curricular freedom, which means that they can teach classes that are attached to their own culture and the collective needs of the students.

He celebrated this fundraising initiative, because he said, maintaining a preparatory school is not easy and even more so when it comes to revaluing community knowledge and improving collective living conditions.

The teacher considered that it is necessary to strengthen this type of schools, not only because they are communities that the government does not serve, but because this gives some autonomy to the community, allowing it to decide how to educate its children, with what values ​​and with what knowledge

“The students have a nursery in a community space, that is something that is not available in any school. There are also autonomous events that they hold to raise funds, they have raffles, sales, and many of us cooperate and collaborate,” he said.

Finally, he urged the entire society to help them and donate to continue resisting, so that young people study, learn and defend themselves.

“Everything here is like a tequio, the teachers and the director sometimes receive payments and help donated by the parents, in my case, I give my support, I contribute for free, that’s how the deal was, because the battle is to get teachers to donate their knowledge, time and effort.

Donations are received in the name of: Marcelino Ramos Hernandez. CLABE: 646014206808820063. Bank: STP/Payment Market w. From abroad, it can be transferred through Xoom or Wester Union with the same information and the email: [email protected] and donations in kind are also accepted.

Diana Manzo / IstmoPress News Agency