Sacred Valley Project Inc

The mission of the Sacred Valley Project (SVP) is to provide boarding and supplementary education for young women from remote Andean communities so that they can continue and complete their secondary education.SVP facilitates secondary school access for indigenous girls from remote communities. SVP currently operates three dormitories, enabling 54 girls to attend secondary school. The dormitories remove the barrier of a long, unsafe and often impossible journey to secondary school. While living at the dormitory, girls receive comprehensive support and full-time supervision. SVP provides daily balanced meals, supplemental academic support through small-group tutoring, extracurricular activities, and mental and physical health care. SVP's culturally sensitive approach is guided by community engagement in the project. Many SVP graduates have the goal of returning home after their studies to support their families and communities. SVP envisions a world in which every girl has access to a quality education and the opportunity to reach her full potential. SVP aims to achieve this vision by supporting rural, indigenous Peruvian girls in their educational goals.In the Sacred Valley of Peru, the world's most direct descendants of the Inca Empire live in extreme poverty, struggling to meet even the most basic of needs. One of the most severe problems for rural villages in the region is a lack of access to public services. Children must walk several hours to the nearest elementary school and high schools are often only located in larger towns, too far from home for students to commute daily. While boys often move to urban centers to pursue an education, this same opportunity is not available for many girls. In 2010, SVP was founded in order to address the need for better access to secondary schools for adolescent girls. During our first year of operation, we served 6 students. Today, SVP serves more than 50 girls from over 20 different Andean communities in the Sacred Valley of Peru. The Sacred Valley Project addresses the need for better access to secondary school for Quechua girls from rural Andean communities by removing the barrier of a long and unsafe journey, providing a dormitory and education center where the girls can live in a safe and nurturing environment all while receiving nutritious meals, after school tutoring, mentorship and post-secondary guidance.