‘VISIONARIA’
1. A visionary person (f, Spanish)
2. A mindset and ability to plan the future with creativity and confidence
When I had the privilege to visit Peru in 2018, I reached out to the non-profit organization Visionaria Network. With an emphasis on improving education and gender equality in rural Peru, I knew I wanted to meet the Visionaria team and see what I could do to contribute to their efforts. Upon meeting them I was immediately welcomed into their circle of local experts who want to support Andean communities in a more sustainable way than other non-profit charities in the region. They took me to the mountain town schools they partner with where I was able to photograph and see their work of training teachers and supporting student-leaders first hand. Their hospitality went far and beyond, showing me around Cusco, inviting me on hikes and to local fútbol matches, and even ordering me my first ever chicken foot soup!
Wildcatters Network truly believes in Visionaria’s mission and is a proud donor. We will let their success show you why you should too!
Currently, less than 5% of all students in rural parts of Peru are achieving national learning standards
Visionaria began 3 years ago with the mission to create an innovative approach to spur youth engagement in Andean community development; improving secondary-education quality in the process. Since 2017 they have trained teachers in 40 public schools, energizing over 49,000 classroom hours for 1,800 9th grade students.
Visionaria curriculum and teacher support programs work to improve teaching quality and learning outcomes in Peruvian public school civics classrooms. The program integrates with regular public school teaching hours and connects young people in isolated communities to design and advocate for locally appropriate community solutions. In return, empowering these young minds to speak up and make a change to the issues they face.
Visionaria Network is a 501(c)3 with an annual budget of around $100k, which has been funded mostly by technical research grants and awards since they began. Local Peruvian funding sources are on the horizon after 2 successful years building a movement with public school educators. But the grants and awards are irregular, which is where we all come in. If you believe in the power of young people to become leaders who solve their own problems and the power of education to make that happen, please consider donating to their 2019 Year-End Campaign here!