Transforming Lives through Education Rural Oaxaca

Dear donors, we are very happy to share what is happening at Ananda. We have great news.

The school year has begun with some changes. The high school project, which was located within the community on rented land, is now very close to Ananda. This is great news because it's important for the team to be together and support the adolescents. The teachers' house has been expanded and renovated to become the new space for Arcadia High School. Students have a comfortable environment to work on their projects, a kitchen, a library, a garden, a small laboratory, and a cabin to accommodate visitors. Another good news is that Abimael Bolaños, a humanities teacher, is beginning his AMI diploma program for adolescents in the city of Cuernavaca, Morelos. Through this training, teachers will gain more tools and skills necessary to support the comprehensive development of adolescents.

At Ananda, we welcomed new teachers to the primary group. Workshop II classroom has been expanded to accommodate both Workshop I and II groups. Osvelia is now the primary teacher for this group and is accompanied by two assistants who help coordinate the children's different activities, such as English, music, the library, the garden, and the farm. Maria Montessori observed that when groups of children of different ages are grouped together, the academic and social diversity of the classroom is enhanced. In addition, students benefit greatly from the rigor of exposure to a broader range of skills. The children have already adapted to this change within a month of starting the school year, with older students gaining valuable leadership skills when teaching lessons to younger children.

We are very happy to announce that we have successfully created and signed a strategic alliance with Conafe Oaxaca, whose director is Alejandra Brito. Today, the Ananda Learning Center begins serving as a training center for Conafe teachers thanks to the support of the Moisés Foundation, One Foundation and AMI trainer Diana Vargas, we began the pilot phase of replicating the core of the Ananda children's home model in four seed schools near our Center. During 2025, the methodology for the 10-month diploma program for the selected Conafe teachers , the pedagogical director, and some of the trainers is being developed, as well as the materials for setting up the four environments. This last week of September, we had a visit from AMI trainer Diana Vargas and Conafe directors , who toured the selected schools with Atalia and Laura, directors of Ananda and Arcadia.

It has been a very emotional and hopeful visit. We hope this will be the beginning of the great dream of bringing contextualized, holistic, and loving education to many more children in the Sierra Sur Oaxaqueña, through the training of native youth. This fulfills Ananda's second objective: to empower and support local talent by providing adequate workspaces and ongoing training for the staff charged with the noble task of educating.

We are very grateful for the trust you have placed in this project. Your donation helps us continue working toward our goal of educating more children . Thank you so much for your generosity.