Chumpepoke Primary School

Sacred Valley, Peru

Chumpepokes is an isolated community at 11,000 ft altitude in the Andes Mountains. The community is poor and the Quechua speaking people are subsistent farmers. Only two members of the 780 community have studied higher education. No one owns transport and there is no bus service to the village. Goods have to be purchased in the Sacred Valley, about 40 minutes by car down the mountain. The school was built by Belaunde government in 1970 after land was given back to the community after over 400 years of Spanish ownership. No further help was given to the community from that time on. Mountain community development was ignored by subsequent governments. The road was recently built to get to other communities across the mountains.

The school has strong attendence at 95% during non planting season when the attendence drops to 50%.  The school has one of the lowest literacy rates at 60% in Peru who maintains a national literacy rate above 90%.  The children of the Cumpepoke community have poor school conditions and also do not have a local high school. 

The school was built in 1970 and no furniture has been provided by the Education Department or Government since then. There are holes in the rotting wood, legs are broken or wobbly, bumpy surfaces are unsafe and not easy for the children to write on. Foundation for Freedom has provided funds for tables and chairs for 120 students and is still seeking fund to provide tables and chairs for the remaining 60 students.  Additionally the school needs help in providing hot lunches.

US co-ordinator: Inna Gofman

Local co-ordinator: Carol Cumes