I remember years ago, sitting and waiting for hours just to speak with an educational administrator of an isolated province. In fact, I can recall various plastic chairs where I parked myself, intent on getting a meeting with someone who never heard of Alma and at the moment had better things to do. Therefore, it’s not an exaggeration to say that Alma has come full circle this year.
It took time, but after the success of our projects over the last few years, I find that I wait less and less for meetings, and that the other participants in the meetings are actually happy to be there! Each year we integrated the state educational authorities more and more into the development, implementation, and evaluation of the projects to the point that this year we officially passed the project off to the Cusco Region (GEREDUC). Alma will accompany them throughout the process.
A few days ago I was invited to speak at the Cusco Region’s 2023 educational planning meeting. Present was every single education specialist from Cusco’s regional authority and its 14 provinces. There were over 160 specialists in total. This was an internal discussion, so no non-profits were invited – except for Alma.
After the presentation we were flooded with positive and supportive messages. Most had already worked with us in the past and were ready for a new year. Those new to their positions were excited about the prospect of using our training program with their teachers.
It was an important risk to hand our project over to the GEREDUC, but after this last meeting, I am more sure than ever that we did the right thing.
Ian McGroarty
Executive Director
Alma Children’s Education Foundation