Opening Doors to Education for Venezuelan Youth in Peru

A new opportunity has arrived for thousands of Venezuelan youth, refugees, and migrant women, who actively participate in the “Integrando Horizontes” project in Peru.

This Pan American Development Foundation (PADF) initiative seeks to contribute sustainable solutions to guarantee human rights to the most vulnerable populations impacted by migration in different countries throughout the hemisphere.

According to the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR), Peru is the second most-common destination country for Venezuelans, hosting more than 1.3 million refugees and migrants.

Among other objectives, “Integrando Horizontes” aims to increase access to safe educational spaces and environments for the vulnerable Venezuelan population in underserved communities of Lima, Callao, Tumbes and Piura.

Through this project, PADF facilitates the integration of Venezuelan children and young people into the Peruvian education system, ensuring that they have access to education and with it can achieve academic success.

In coordination with the Centro de Desarrollo y Autogestión (DYA), PADF has implemented successful actions to help parents enroll their children in school. These actions are supported with school reinforcement programs and help to search for school vacancies, to improve students’ academic skills, their critical thinking and to develop the social skills they need for integration.

The provision of school kits (including notebooks, pens, sheets, colors, and other supplies) is also a fundamental and complementary support to prevent school dropout and serves as a motivation to attend school.

In public schools in Peru, PADF has strengthened capacities in co-existence and integration between Venezuelan and Peruvian students, as well as in human rights and training in the STEAM (science, technology, engineering, art and mathematics) methodology that are aimed at Peruvian teachers and educational authorities. These are executed with the support of the Instituto Político para la Libertad (IPL).

PADF has carried out virtual events key to promoting school co-existence and integration. For example, the oratory and debate championship, in which youth proposed ideas such as cultural activities and gastronomic fairs; and the STEAM fair, which held preparatory and mentoring sessions for students, who created mobile apps to promote co-existence in schools.

Kristel Vicent Torres is one of hundreds of Venezuelan mothers who have benefited from the school reinforcement program, within the framework of “Integrando Horizontes.” Her voice represents Venezuelan migrants, who every day fight for new opportunities.

I’m Amanda Morales’ mom. I am grateful to the Centro de Desarrollo y Autogestión. My little girl has been able to grow a lot. Thanks to the program she has identified more the letters, the numbers and has been able to integrate into a group. She has been able to start studying here (in Peru) and has done very well in her diagnostic exams with her teacher. My daughter had not studied for a long time. It became very easy for her to integrate into the education system."