The story of Dair
The day begins in the rural community of ‘Porcón Alto’, located in the Cajamarca region, in the northern highlands of Peru. Dair lives there with his family. He is 12 years old, has three brothers and is currently in the last year of primary education at School 82912, located at an altitude of more than 3000 metres above sea level.
Every morning, he walks for twenty-five minutes along a sandy path surrounded by vegetation to get to his school: a learning haven surrounded by farmland, with a large playground for games and free activities, and classrooms that accommodate approximately 300 students.
Dair is very good at maths, he loves football and is a Real Madrid fan: he follows the Liga and Champions League matches and knows the positions and facts about the stars of the merengue team. But he also likes to find out about other stars: those that light up his ‘Porcón Alto’. Although at his school there are few astronomy books, he has been able to learn a little more with details that his teachers have provided in explanations on the blackboard.
Although that panorama changed a few years ago with the arrival of a suitcase of tablets at his school, which transformed teaching and learning in the classroom together with his teachers. Now, Dair and his classmates explore a world of knowledge that was previously unimaginable: he uses applications and accesses educational and technological tools and resources from the ‘Profuturo’ programme developed by the Telefónica Foundation and the ‘la Caixa’ Foundation, which impacts millions of schoolchildren and teachers in thousands of schools in Latin America, Africa, Asia and the Caribbean. Thanks to this programme, Dair and the students at the school have further awakened their curiosity, improved their creativity and enhanced their digital skills.
Tuesdays and Wednesdays are the most special days for Dair. These are days when he has the opportunity to use technological tools, enjoy the content, learn and solve maths exercises as if he were playing a game.
For more than five years, the students of School 82912 have been taking advantage of these educational resources, especially in Mathematics, and always guided by their teachers, who receive weekly advice on how to improve their digital skills. The teachers value this support and the opportunity to continue training in technological subjects in order to provide a better education for their pupils. The enormous work they do is commensurate with the greatness of their spirit and vocation.
Education transforms lives. And access to educational and technological resources promotes greater inclusion, strengthens students’ digital skills, and prepares them for better employment opportunities in the future.
Dair and many of his classmates dream of becoming engineers: building hospitals, roads and bridges that will improve their community. Dair’s ideals are as high as the mountains that surround him. Today, Dair’s school has become a place where learning is an unforgettable and exciting experience thanks to technology. And for the programme ‘Profuturo’ it is a source of pride to accompany his dreams with quality digital education. A proposal to dream, to connect.
During these days that we shared and learnt about Dair’s stories together with his schoolmates and teachers, we found a treasure trove of learning and a new map of friendship. On the last day, as we said goodbye, with our eyes clouded with hope and nostalgia, among the mass hugs, promises of reunions were made to celebrate the students’ new achievements. We left grateful for the bridges built towards the promising future that they will have to live through. We have faith in it.
Now, to sleep. Soon, under the silent violet cloak, Dair’s rooster will crow its sweet melody.
The importance of reducing the digital divide
ProFuturo seeks to reduce the digital divide in education throughout the world by providing educational innovation through technology. This educational proposal includes its own platform with universal content that allows for the incorporation of local and third-party resources to better adapt to the local learning context. In addition, at ProFuturo we solve the problem of lack of connectivity, since we work offline most of the time, which allows us to give access to everyone.
