Together with other members of the Xavier Network, Canadian Jesuits International (CJI) works with the Jesuit Service for the Pan-Amazon Region (SJPAM) and Fe y Alegría (FyA) International Educational Network to raise awareness of ecological and social justice issues and to promote intercultural and bilingual education in the Amazon region.

The people who live in the Amazon River Basin share resources, cultures and lands that stretch across established national boundaries. Fe y Alegría and SJPAM are working with local communities in 5 countries – Bolivia, Brazil, Ecuador, Peru and Venezuela – to strengthen indigenous identity according to each community’s needs and to address the environmental damage caused by the exploitation of natural resources.

Pilot projects have been launched in 26 schools in different parts of the region. Our partners are developing intercultural and bilingual education curricula tailored to the culture and environment of local communities. Teachers and students need programs to prevent indigenous languages from disappearing, and they also need Spanish or Portuguese to interact with others as their communities change.

Through mutual exchange and collaboration, these 26 schools are working with their local communities and with government and environmental organizations to identify and implement actions to protect their natural resources and build a culture of solidarity, awareness and care for "our common home".

As the Colombian Jesuit Provincial, Carlos E. Correa, has noted, “The Amazon is a key territory for the future of all humanity. Our commitment to its original inhabitants and the biodiversity that exists there is a clear manifestation of how we join our hearts to God, who works tirelessly to make life full.”

Pan-Amazon Initiative Director: Fr Luis Javier Sarralde SJ
Leticia, Colombia

Read the latest project impact report: Click here 

The project at a glance:

Beneficiaries

Bolivia: 948 students; 52 teachers

Brazil: 80 students; 27 teachers

Ecuador: 596 students; 24 teachers

Peru: 1, 726 students; 50 teachers

Venezuela: 5, 465 students; 228 teachers

 

Budget:

$45,000 (CJI contribution per year; from 2024 to 2027)

Activities

The second stage (2024-2027) of the Pan-Amazon initiative of Fe y Alegria includes the following:

  • Strengthen the implementation of intercultural education curricula in 19 educational institutions managed by Fe y Alegria in the Pan-Amazon
  • Integrate and use Indigenous languages in 17 Fe y Alegria educational institutions in the Pan-Amazon region
  • Promote leadership and community actions on the defense and care of nature in 13 Fe y Alegria educational institutions in the Pan-Amazon region
  • Host activities that will disseminate and promote Amazonian knowledge
  • Design public advocacy plan to publicize socio-environmental issues affecting Amazonian societies.

Please support the work of the Pan-Amazon Intercultural and Bilingual Education Program by making a donation:

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