School supplies of all sorts

We've been buying school supplies for years
This is one of our primary services to several families, to help their kids do well in school.
Teachers give students their "lists," the very specific notebooks required for each subject:
Red for Math, Green for Science (correct me on this, kids!), plus the art supplies and pens and even a cushion and toothbrush, plus a few books such as the dictionary.

We met Erica, Breta, and Yaquelin with their grandmother at the big school supply fair at the stadium and found most of what they needed.

Happy to get the rest of their school supplies

The elementary school requested cushions--I guess to pad the seats! Maybe they shouldn't be sitting so much as to need cushions.

Erica is happy choosing cuadernos

We bought school supplies for 12 students in elementary and secondary school at about $30 each.

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Ivan starts college, majoring in auto/boat mechanics.
Ivan's summer jobs the last couple of summers has been driving the boats back and forth from Puno to Taquile. He saw that mechanics would always be in demand, and also that it would be advantageous to have a mechanic in the family. Three boats are owned among his uncles. So he told his parents that he wanted to continue his education. He chose a respected institution, SENATI. His coursework includes not only auto mechanics, but math, physics, chemistry, British English, communications, personal development and technical drawing, as well as a special course in cell-phone repair!. It will be a three-year program. We have committed to paying tuition of $100 per month plus an occasional extra.

Silvano brought us on an excursion to check out the facilities.

Ivan is living in the family's apartment in the Taquile Albergue is on an upper floor, with natural light through a good window, plus a solar panel and electricity. Silvano chose it long ago with his dream to someday educate his children in Puno. It's small, but adequate for a college student to be able to study. The school requires that each student has a computer, so we bought one.  

Modern day college students everywhere use computers.

On top of the world:

Standing on top of the roof of the Albergue in his new uniform.

POSTSCRIPT ON IVAN'S PROGRESS, OCTOBER, 2018:

Ivan is doing very well in his coursework and beginning to experience hands-on mechanic work as well. All year, I have been in touch with his father through the internet. Silvano stays in Puno a lot to keep an eye on the young man, but he is living up to the challenge of advance education,. He keeps up with his studies.

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Kusi starts college
Kusi graduated from high school top of her class, and showed great promise to further her education. Her dream as always been to be in a profession that would help people, nutritionist, nurse. However those professions required a 6 year commitment and probably a move to Lima. She is only 17 as she starts her education, and settled on a study of languages for the tourist guide profession. Credits will be transferable from this school when or if she is ready to go for a bigger degree.
We got her all enrolled into a three-year program right in Puno. We are greatly assisted in the financing of Kusi's education by her godfather from Gunnison, Colorado, Luke Danielson. Thanks, Lucas!

A visit to the English classroom

The family is happy to get her started.

The family's  small room in the Taquile Albergue is dark and unsatisfactory for her to live in Puno, so the family want on a search for adequate housing where either her mother, Asunta, or her grandmother, Celbia, would stay with her most of the time. She would therefore need a desk and bed and other furniture. So school supplies take on a whole new meaning:

Table, desk, chair, tea kettle and pressure cooker

Armando loads up the new mattress. Big enough to share with grandma.

At last Kusi is established in her new apartment. She looks so confident at her new desk, with her new cell phone (required by the school to receive assignments).

POSTSCRIPT ON KUSI'S PROGRESS, OCTOBER, 2018

She transferred to a different school after two months. San Luis kept imposing new fees and unreasonably expensive excursions. For example, a student training tour of the Uros Islands required payment of the same that would be charged to tourists! She transferred to a facility in Capachica where she entered a program wherein she could study on her own and then report for instruction and testing every two weeks. During that time, she worked with Eufrasia in the store on Taquile while Delfin was recovering from an illness. We are not sure of her current academic status, but this week she was carrying and studying a book to learn English. She seems to have fallen in love; her boyfriend's family has a restaurant on Taquile. She is now age 18 and a legal adult.