Mosqoy

Cristian studied at a small rural high school outside of Ollantaytambo. He is older than the other students, since he was forced to begin elementary school much later due to family troubles. Growing up, he suffered family challenges but through perseverance, graduated high school as a leader against all odds.

Alex has become a positive role model for his peers, as he is mature and has shared his mathematical talents by providing voluntary tutoring sessions for his peers. He is committed to his community and returns every weekend to learn traditional knowledge from his father, who is the president of the community's weaving cooperative. Alex is also an artist, making bone carvings, clay sculptures, and paintings in his spare time. Alex has found a unique way to combine his artistic talent and passion for technical engineering. This year he helped his parents to remodel their adobe house by designing and creating intricate clay sculptures for the walls of his house. During his school year, Alex participated in Mosqoy's "Kallpa K'oj" program in which students are encouraged to give back to their communities through volunteer services. During his community volunteer work, Alex renovate the elementary-school library in a rural village called Q'enqo. He painted a mural for the library to make it inspiring and culturally appropriate for the young students. Combining these diverse talents, Alex hopes to pursue a career in Architectural Engineering & Design, upon graduating with his degree.

Fernando unfortunately grew up most of his life as an orphan, having lost both his parents at a young age. Having a lack of support and guidance, Fernando did not begin caring about his education until high school. Fernando's cousin, Raul, another Mosqoy student, introduced Fernando to Mosqoy and its program. The support and family structure Mosqoy offers is what brought Fernando to us, having had little of it when growing up. Fernando is now enrolled into Kiphu Institute where he is studying Tourism. He hopes to help teach his community Spanish so tourism can be a viable economic opportunity. He hopes to be able to teach travelers about his community culture and weaving traditions.

"Thalia is a motivated young woman with a positive approach to life, especially when it comes to her studies. She recognizes the challenges that her community Ollantaytambo is facing and is driven to succeed in order to take leadership and create a more promising future for her community. "Dime y lo olvido, ensename y lo acuerdo, involucrame y lo aprendo." Tell me and I forget, teach me and I remember, involve me and I learn." Thalia has learned that one must keep moving ahead even through difficult times. This approach has brought her much success as she has pushed on and overcome many challenges throughout her childhood. Thalia's goal is to succeed in life and to support her younger brother, who also wants to continue his education.

Nohemi is from the small rural community Socma in the Sacred Valley Region of Peru. Growing up it was difficult for her family to meet their basic needs. This made it challenging for her to prioritize her studies; nevertheless, she was persistent and found the support she needed for secondary education through scholarship programs. "La alegria y las ganas son los que guian nuestro camino para el exito. "Happiness and motivation guide our path to success." In the future, she would like to use her knowledge and experience in order to help develop a sustainable tourism program for Socma. She is very proud of her beautiful community and hopes to share her culture with others in a way that allows for responsible social development.

Senovio (also known as Fredy) is from Cancha Cancha, a tiny rural community that has no road and very few amenities, at 4000 metres above sea level. Senovio has lived independently from a young age, and graduated high-school despite all odds because of the incredible support of community members who took him in as his guardians. His ambition shone, as he worked on their farm, translated into Quechua for community-based tourism groups, and completed a permaculture course - all before graduating high school! Now, we’re excited that Senovio will be able to continue his educational dreams with Mosqoy's support, pursuing Culinary Arts at Blue Ribbon Institute - one of the best chef schools in Cusco. Senovio wishes to open up a local restaurant chain across the Sacred Valley upon graduation where he can one day employ more students from the Mosqoy Youth Program, and then eventually continue his studies further in International Business Administration. He is also learning English and German, and hopes to learn many more languages!