Fe y Alegria

Located in the Canto Grande, one of the poorest areas of Lima, the Fe y Alegría School provides education to over 1,494 students, and has been connected with the Edmund Rice Mission for over 20 years.

The Fe y Alegría School serves children from the Canto Grande area on the outskirts of Lima. The area is one of the many enormous and poor suburbs that have grown up around the mega-city in the past two decades. After some troubled years of terrorism and political unrest, Perú has settled down more recently into democratic ways. However there continues to be a huge and ever widening gap between the richest people and the majority of the people. This division can be seen along geographical lines as you move out of the historic city and away from the commercial district. In the barrios like Canto Grande millions of families continue to struggle for survival, working informal jobs, and living in precarious housing on the sides of the dusty hills of this desert region.

Fe y Alegría School offers an oasis of learning in the midst of this neighbourhood. Five Christian Brothers work in the school and are involved in diverse activities including teaching at both primary and secondary level, involvement with sports, the school band, pastoral activities and Christian formation. They are helped by a staff of lay-people who for the past 30 years have shown their commitment to offering the children the best possible educational opportunity despite their humble origins.

There are three innovative projects going on at Fe y Alegría that are integral to its success:

a. Project “Buen Gusto”: This project provides a very cheap lunch for over 100 children each day.

b. Sexual Health Programme: To counter the abundance of under-age pregnancies among students, the school has established a sexual education programme in the past few years. Led by health professionals, the programme seeks to educate students in healthy attitudes towards their sexuality.

c. Summer Programme: This project seeks to help the children during the summer holidays. Through a range of academic and recreational activities, the children are encouraged to value their educational opportunities as a means to a better future.