Jorge Ayala and Joseph Sarvary founded our environmental education programme Voces de la Naturaleza in 2015 to transform the way that Paraguayan youth learn about their environment. They’ve built a curriculum that’s focused on developing young eco-leaders to drive change in their communities.
Our Voces de la Naturaleza programme began in 2015 as a single after-school eco-club in the front yard of Jorge’s sister’s home. It quickly grew into a vast network of eco-clubs across Paraguay with the help of teachers, government officials and volunteers. Today, it provides a safe space for hundreds of children in Paraguay to engage their creativity and learn about the natural world.
The programme has received funding from IFED and Lush Charity Pot. Further, Jorge won the international Energy Globe Award for the Voces de la Naturaleza programme in 2020.
Eco-leader: (n) “a person who instigates action for the benefit of the community that supports them and the environment that surrounds them.”
(Environmental) education in Paraguay
Education in Paraguay has for a long time not been given the funding it deserves. Overcrowded classrooms, underqualified and underpaid teachers, and language suppression for children that grow up with Guarani as their first language are issues that continue to affect the education system today.
It’s hardly surprising that Paraguay’s general education ranked 136th out of 138 participating countries in the World Politics Review 2018. And it gets even worse when we look at environmental teaching: Here, the quality of Paraguay’s maths and science education ranked 137 of 138 participating countries.
What’s more, these results only refer to those students that are participating in the educational system. In 2020, UNICEF reported a net enrolment rate of 75% in primary schools and 64% in upper secondary schools, making Paraguay the Latin American country with the worst enrolment rate. Children in more rural, poorer areas are more affected than their urban counterparts, with 10 to 15 per cent of these children completely illiterate.
The lack of environmental education in the Paraguayan curriculum means that even the children living closest to natural areas have limited understanding of the value of nature and the critical importance of its protection.
Empowering eco-leaders
Environmental education is the most effective way to inspire people to protect their natural heritage. Voces de la Naturaleza is designed to share the value of nature with Paraguayan youth, changing their attitudes towards their natural environment.
Our curriculum, which is available in both English and Spanish, is centred on our 3-C’s System. We believe that through Creativity, Curiosity, and a Connection to Nature we can provide our club members with the skills they need to become tomorrow’s eco-leaders.
We’re currently working to have our Voces de la Naturaleza curriculum included in the national curriculum. This will give every child in Paraguay the opportunity to engage with their natural environment and learn about the importance of our natural world.
Giving a voice to children in Paraguay
At the One Young World conference hosted in Bogota in 2018, co-founder Joseph Sarvary was featured as a part of the 12.01 Project’s documentary series. Watch the interview to learn more about the background and the story of our Voces de la Naturaleza programme.
It is fun to see Joseph speak about our planned growth from 50 to 300 students back in 2018 when today we reach hundreds of students each year!
Contact
Jorge Ayala
Jorge co-founded our Voces de la Naturaleza programme and now leads our flagship eco-clubs in Pilar. He also coordinates and trains volunteers to run eco-clubs across the country using the Voces de la Naturaleza curriculum.
If you have any questions regarding Voces de la Naturalzea or want to start your own club, you can contact Jorge at jorge.d.ayala@gmail.com
Intern with our environmental education programme
From creating lessons and educational games to leading activities in a variety of settings, our internships offer unique opportunities to gain hands-on experience in education.
Learn new skills and boost your CV, while making a real difference for Paraguayan children!
Support our environmental education programme
Our eco-club programme needs financial support to buy new educational material - from crayons and notebooks, to utensils and interactive materials.
Help us empower eco-leaders in Paraguay!