Chilean school sponsored by UPEI ready to go it alone

A five-year project by the University of Prince Edward Island to help establish a school for Indigenous children in southern Chile is in its final month.

The university is handing over the Wekimn School project in Chilo,Chileto the local community it partnered with to develop it.

The curriculum for the school includes a mix of classroom and field work.

"The whole design of the project was going into the communities and speaking with community members about what they wanted to learn, and what they wanted to preserve about their culture," said project manager Debbie MacDonald.

"Our team has transformed that into a really interesting curriculum that's really focused on working and learning outside of a classroom setting."

In addition to classrooms, the school includes orchards, an old-growth forest, a coastal path, and a chicken coop.

Community projects

Research fellow Pablo Arnguiz Mesas is visiting from Chilo this week to make a presentation on the status of the school.

Mesas said the project is already having a big impact on local communities. Students return to their communities and create projects as part of their schoolwork. Engaging the community in the work is part of the project.

"They have been working really hard through all the whole year in solving problems that communities are having,"

While UPEI is in its last month of involvement in the project, MacDonald hopes the connection between Chilo and P.E.I. will continue.

While Mesas is on the Island he will meet with local Mi'kmaq, in the hopes of establishing connections between the Indigenous peoples of P.E.I. and Chilo.

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