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There are several
factors that are important to consider when discussing
girls’ access to education in rural Perú, such as parents’
objections, old and unsafe school facilities, unprepared
teachers with stereotyped expectations of gender roles, and,
in many cases, restrictive social-cultural norms.
Girls
face unfriendly school environments that are obstacles
to their learning process and to their chances of completing
school.
It is in
rural areas
where the biggest deficit in the girls' school attendance is
found; the irregular attendance, the incompatibility among
school and domestic obligations, family disintegration, low
self-esteem, poverty and extreme poverty conditions,
and ineffective teaching methods still define a fragile
relationship between girls and the school.
An ethnographic study
on rural young women’s voices and agencies found that
in spite of their harsh living conditions, young rural women
have a firm determination to build a different future and
avoid perpetuating the poverty cycle in which their
mothers and female relatives have lived. Even though they
are aware that their futures beyond school are uncertain
because of social and financial barriers, the 2005 study
showed that young rural women are determined to establish
goals in life and act upon them.
Thus, Killari’s mission is to support rural young women
pursuing post-secondary education through our educational
aid packages program. This program will make it possible for
them to access to post-secondary educational institutions
in the region. Through their formal educational experience,
these young women will become empowered agents able to break
the poverty cycle and the patriarchal societal norms that
currently impede their inclusion into the social, working,
and political spheres.
Our
educational aid packages program
goes beyond the financial support. It includes
other important aspects necessary to achieve an integral
education.
In our empowering workshops, regional specialists come in to
work with the young women. They address various issues, such
as vocational direction,
self-esteem, health, and domestic violence. At
Killari, our program is acting as a catalyst. We are
introducing them to new opportunities, providing them with
guidance and helping them to achieve their goals in life.
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