Help Poor Rural Girls in Paraguay go to University

We are very pleased to inform you that Aymara, 2016 CEM Graduate, has been admitted to the EARTH University of Costa Rica, where she will prepare to become a future leader for sustainable rural development in our country. She was chosen from a large group of highly qualified candidates because she stood out for her academic preparation, her determination, her commitment to her community, her potential to become a leader in change and her commitment to the future of the planet we share. She will join a community of researchers and professors from more than forty countries in Latin America, Africa and the Caribbean, whose actions are aimed at building a future in which our communities will achieve their social, economic and environmental well-being. 

We are very proud of Aymara, in this way she becomes the 2nd “Daughter of the Forest” in obtaining this scholarship from the EARTH University of Costa Rica.

On September 16 at the Arambe Educational Center, the Second Date of the competitions of the National Robotics League 2017-2018 was held. With the support of NASA, the Robotics Academy of Carnegie Mellon University and Vex Robotics, students at all levels of education presented their robotics projects, designed, built and programmed by them, all in order to solve an engineering challenge that has been presented to them in game form during the academic cycle 2017-2018.

Among these students, students of the CEM have had an outstanding participation, winning 5th place of the General competition and 2nd place in its category. This is a great achievement for girls who just a few months ago started their training and participation in Robotics competitions.

In addition to building the robot, students actively learn about science, technology, engineering and mathematics with a STEM-oriented research project (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics). More than 60 teams made up of Paraguayan students, aged between 8 and 21, were evaluated for competencies such as; teamwork, programming skills, and robot management.

On May 20, 2017, the GRAMO Fest + FIIS took place in the Port of Asuncion. Two graduates from the Center of Education Mbaracayu (CEM), Bianca and Palmira, were present and sharing the experiences they had while at school at CEM. The two star graduates presented their stories on the main stage at GRAMO; this is the second time they have been invited. Both graduates are currently working as staff of the Moises Bertoni Foundation, which contributes to the protection and sustainable development of natural resources of Paraguay.

GRAMO is a conversation platform in which invited speakers from different areas share ideas of the “Paraguay of tomorrow being built today.”

The girls of the CEM robotics team participated in the National Robotics Championship, held on Saturday, March 5, in the framework of the FesTechPy 2017 held at the Mariscal Lopez Convention Center.

The FesTechPy is a big technological event loaded with competition, talks, among others, organized by Reeduca.

It is the first time that a CEM team participates in a competition as big as this, considering the short time the Robotics Academy has been open; to be able to participate in an event like this is a great achievement. CEM’s team was unique for various reasons: it was the only team from outside of Central Department, the only school composed exclusively of girls, and the only school with a focus on including indigenous communities in new educational models.  By including girls in programs like robotics, we overcome social and gender barriers and allow girls to flourish with new educational programs.

Saturday, December 17, the graduation ceremony of the Mbaracayú Educational Center was held, in which 31 young women from the area of the Mbaracayú Reserve received their Bachelor's degree in Environmental Sciences.

In rural areas, receiving a bachelor's degree is a challenge for young women, so this graduation means a very important achievement for the families and communities to which they belong, They now have environmental technical skills and stand out for their knowledge and leadership.

This is the sixth group of graduates from the school, which, since 2009, has been changing the lives of adolescents in an environment of vulnerability, affected by the gender inequality that is common in the area. To date, there are already 212 students who have graduated from CEM.

The event was held at 8 am at the Mbaracayú Educational Center (CEM) located in the Mbaracayú Forest Natural Reserve. Dozens of relatives and friends of the graduates accompanied the ceremony, in addition to the school staff and the Moisés Bertoni Foundation.

Yan Speranza, Executive Director of the FMB participated in the award ceremony; Enrique Dyck, Member of the Board of Directors; Daniel Jacquet, General Manager of the FMB; Sonnia Sanabria, Director of CEM and Professors Elizandro González and Maximina Ozuna, sponsors of the promotion.

From the Mbaracayú Educational Center and the Moisés Bertoni Foundation, we celebrate this achievement with our students and their families.

Highlights

The 2016 CEM promotion participated in several competitions during the three years of middle school education, including the Poverty Stoplight Olympics, organized by Fundación Paraguaya, which consisted of facing challenges for the elimination of poverty.

In 2015, the students of the second course (sixth promotion) won the first prize of this contest, which gave them the opportunity to visit cities in Brazil.

They also participated in several fairs in which they exhibited outstanding works, with products and brands elaborated by them in the framework of their entrepreneurial education.