At Chicuchas Wasi Alternative School for Girls in Cusco, Peru, our focus is providing free education; teaching academic skills
to poor indigenous
female children who are
otherwise forgotten by mainstream education.
We have worked for 25 years to educate the families, and the Andean community, regarding the value of their girl children and the many abilities they will develop if given the opportunity for a future out of poverty and economic dependence. We strive to prepare these girls with skills that will enable them to defend themselves economically when they become adults. Through the experience of their years of education, our girls will instill in their own future children the knowledge that there are choices other than poverty and dependency on a father, brother or husband for survival. We hope to stem the flow of unwanted children who are often abandoned when their fathers leave their mothers with no income, no food, no social resources. Without formal education, and left to survive as a mother alone, women are forced to seek security with another man who often
will not accept the women's children by another man – and child abandonment is often the result.
Chicuchas Wasi began in 1987 as an organization caring for abandoned children in Cusco. The indigenous Andean community lives in poverty, often lacking clean water, food, medical care, and education. We have made much progress in our 25 years, assisting the Andean community by providing free education for many of their girls who enter and continue in our school each year.
We continue to need financial support to sustain and grow our Alternative School for Girls. All contributions make a difference, and are very appreciated – whether a one-time gift or as on-going, sustained giving. Please visit our Donate page for donation options.
See the History of Chicuchas Wasi for more information about the journey from our 1987 beginnings as a shelter for street kids to our present-day Alternative School for Girls which started in 1998.
Please visit our Photo Albums for a pictorial story of Chicuchas Wasi over the years.
click here to
--- To Fundacion Chicuchas Wasi, Peru ---
--- To Chicuchas Wasi, California, for USA tax-deductible donations ---
--- Internationally (Global Development Group, Australia/USA) ---
