Silvana, what is your position with Fe y Alegría?
I am responsible on the national level for public action, communication, and volunteering with Fe y Alegría Bolivia. The intention is for Fe y Alegría to be able to work primarily with civil society, and also the state, so that you can try to improve education in the country and then the state assumes responsibility, as well as the civil society. Public action has this purpose: training and partnership with civil society, the parents of the children, and educators of our schools.
In all this there are also two important groups: the young leaders of schools, because we believe that training them will produce more sustainable results, and on the other hand, the community leaders. We have training programs in 53 of our educational units. The program is concerned with training in social and educational issues, such as the education law, what is meant by impact, knowing what is education, what does it mean to value education and claim this right. That is, not just hoping that institutions like us will do this work, but working for improved education, better infrastructure, better curricula, and better equipment.
In addition the program also involves an internal training to Fe y Alegría, in order to have better tools for how we act, how we can reach the state, through what mechanisms. We want some of our programs to be undertaken by the state to have a broader reach, for example in cases of houses of learning [Yachay Wasi] and special education.
This also implies creating institutional networks. There are many institutions in the country who are concerned about education, so if we want to influence policy, if we make a difference in education, we must ally with them. It is a challenge for us to consolidate a network in which to do all this work, so that not only does Fe y Alegría do this work, but we can be a strong network.
Finally, there is the issue of communication, on an internal level, about what we are doing. We should also communicate with other institutions. Another type of communication is related to articles about education, not only about Fe y Alegría. This part is important because by becoming informed, people learn what to do to improve education.
What are some of the major networks or alliances for Fe y Alegría?
At the national level, as well as the departmental level, we are part of many networks:
- Network for the Campaign for Bolivian Education. It brings together over 200 institutions working to improve education for all. We choose a theme each year to focus on, and this year it's early childhood. The work consists of communication, awareness, and engaging the government.
- Network of Institutions Working for People with Disabilities. A major event of this network is October 15, which is the day of the person with disabilities in Bolivia. We try to do programs related to this. It’s not just us as Fe y Alegría doing this, but all the organizations in the network and the people who themselves have disabilities.
- Committee of Education for the Prevention of School Violence. We are putting together an education law that we will propose to the government to say how we will work on the issue of violence in schools, which is a rather difficult issue here.
- Network for New Education Technologies. This network meets regularly and builds a plan around technology and computing in schools.
We are also part of some initiatives from the government. For example, there is a network of the government that deals with the same issue of the Committee of Education for the Prevention of School Violence. In addition, as a third category, there are corporate agency networks. In these—for example, the Committee of the Agency of the Spanish Corporation—there are institutions that receive assistance from the corporation, the corporation itself, and the government.
What do you think about the role of faith in Fe y Alegría programs?
Sometimes you can spread faith through your words, and that is very valuable. But it is easier to spread faith with actions, and I think Fe y Alegría does that. They help people with the greatest needs. We serve the children in very sad places where there are no roads, sometimes no food, they have to walk up to five hours to get to school, and those who have come into this world with a disability.
In my opinion, the hallmark of this institution is to think of innovative things that haven’t been done but demand attention. Fe y Alegría is very engaged in action.
What Fe y Alegría does is mostly regular education, but time has shown us that there are other needs and other responses. For example, the work of including children with disabilities: before this issue was worked on through special centers, but we try to have inclusive classrooms now.
All this work is not just for Fe y Alegría. The good and the bad we have done can be lessons for the state and other institutions. We are parallel to the state, responding to state mandates but doing something more, a plus.
Speaking of the state, what effect have the 1994 reforms had in Fe y Alegría programs?
Fe y Alegría always tries to salvage the positive from politics. The policy raised interesting ideas and solutions, but it didn’t have the success they wanted, perhaps for political decisions. There are always good things that can be found in any educational process.
What have been some of the most successful efforts of public action?
It is the youngest program in Fe y Alegría (two years). Getting to the media to bring us closer to the state is important, because they are in absolutely everything. There’s very valuable work that has been done by the departmental offices. Each May 9, which is the day of Fe y Alegría, we publicize everything we’re doing. For example, we have walks (no marches, which have another connotation) for inclusive education with values education. Parents, students, teachers take to the streets to demand special education. People see it, and see it in a positive light and identify with the cause. It raises awareness among the public.
Also, Fe y Alegría is now included in government work. We are invited as facilitators, not only participants, and also are in many networks because of the extent of our work. We have 433 educational units in the country, but it is still important to get to the state because the state can grow what we do and expand the coverage of our programs.
And, on the other hand, what are the key challenges for public action?
Perhaps the two most important challenges are the media and the state. The media gives us opportunities. Sometimes when you ask for something, they say no, but we are also rethinking how to reach them. And in this case we only care that they increasingly open the doors for us, which is a challenge for any educational organization, but for what purpose? So that they prioritize educational issues, which usually does not happen here in Bolivia. There is more circumstantial reporting: for example, if teachers go on strike, they talk about it.
In this we have some very complex challenges. The media also have to be trained. For example, to talk about people with disabilities, there is language that is not right, such as saying they are Mongoloids, or that those people that are bad for society. Then we try to do an initial training process with some media. And they, being more sensitive, give priority to educational issues. We don’t just want a story "Fe y Alegría turns 47 years old" but reports on education—how is education right now in this country? It is very complex, but I think we can work on that.
Also, how the state can increasingly support the institutions that have been working for a long time.
In what sense?
In the sense that I think we're making good progress, i.e. the state is responsible, per the constitution, for addressing education in all corners of the country, and how they do this takes into account what the other institutions in the country are doing and take the good with the bad, because of course knowing the bad is also helpful.
I think the ultimate challenge is for civil society to assume that education is everyone's responsibility and not believe that it is only the responsibility of the state or institutions like ours. And for that, everyone needs to be aware that all of us have to work, which means not just asking but also helping, and one helps based on what one knows.
