About the projects
Quality Bilingual Education Programme (QBEP)
- Where: Guyana/Caribbean Province
- What: Education for indigenous groups
- Number helped: 140 schoolchildren
The project provides an inclusive, equitable, and quality education that affirms and respects the culture and identity of indigenous children in Guyana’s hinterland.
Piloting in three South Rupununi primary schools at Grade 1 and Grade 2, it contextualises the national curriculum for Wapichan children and integrates their culture, language and values.
The national education system in Guyana has brought many advantages to the Wapichan people, but at the same time it has tended to separate them from the traditional education that took place through participation in their own community life.
Assessments at every level of the education system in Guyana are conducted in English. English is officially the language of instruction in schools. Wapichan children who enter the classroom are immediately immersed in an English only environment and struggle from their first day of school.
As well as firsthand support in the classroom, the QBEP hopes to influence policy concerning the use of indigenous languages in instruction and assessment.
Youth Environmental Activism
- Where: Guyana
- What: Green projects for young people
- Number helped: 1,000
Run by Policy Forum Guyana (PFG), it seeks to raise awareness of the link between the climate crisis and the way we live, as a means of enabling young people to promote climate-compatible lifestyles.
The first phase of the project is a youth-led process of developing a ‘Wellbeing of Future Generations’ manifesto, a consensus on the goals needed to create a climate-compatible society in Guyana.
The second will advocate the adoption of the manifesto by the larger civil society, and the third will enshrine it into the constitutional reform process, which began in the second half of 2023.
PFG engages young people politically when it comes to addressing the climate crisis, with training sessions aimed at developing their public speaking, advocacy and digital marking skills.
Examples of practical work on this subject include beach clean-ups and upcycling events, the creation of murals on caring for nature, and debates on the pressing issue of ocean pollution.
Through its work, they are encouraged to think how they can influence decisions linked to the environment, a subject particularly relevant in Guyana given the relatively recent discovery of oil in the region.
More projects
Rwanda
More than a dozen schools in Rwanda have established ‘environment clubs’ to help teach students how to protect and utilise their natural surroundings.
Ukraine
Working with our friends at the Jesuit Refugee Service and as part of the Xavier Network, we continue to support those affected by the conflict in Ukraine.
Southern Africa
Working across five countries in Southern Africa, the projects here look to engage young people in their faith, and equip them for life in the 21st century.
Myanmar
Through various education courses, the Jesuits are supporting communities in Myanmar who have been affected by the brutal military regime there.
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