Fundacion Yanapak Yachachikuna

Fundacion Yanapak Yachachikuna (FYYChE) is and Indigenous-led educational initiative which provides community-directed English, Kichwa, and arts education to rural Kichwa communities of Chimborazo, Ecuador. Educational policy in Ecuador requires students to know English as part of the entrance exams for college. However, there are not enough English teachers in the country to serve all the schools. This results in a concentration of teachers in the cities, leaving the rural (mostly native Kichwa) communities with the decision to either move off their ancestral lands or deny their children access to college. This educational inequality contributes greatly to the 90% rural poverty rate in the region.
Through bridging the educational gap between rural communities and the cities, hundreds of children will have the opportunity to continue their education beyond grade school and be a force for development in their own communities.