Biography

Richar Velarde Casafranca has succeeded against all odds in improving the educational opportunities for the Huama community. Richar is a teacher and the principal of a school for the Quechua people located in an isolated region of the Sacred Valley in the Peruvian Andes. The Quechua are a diminishing population who still speak their native language, believe in communal living, are hard-working and value education. Despite the significant challenges posed by the harsh terrain and lack of government support, Richar is undaunted and the children are eager to learn.

Richar and his wife Jessica organized the local Quechua to form Comunidad Campesina de Huama, a community-based organization providing schooling to over 220 students. In addition to academics and traditional crafts, the school teaches both Quechua and Spanish to minimize discrimination while traveling outside of their community and to increase the children's long-term survival opportunities. Richar has created a nurturing educational environment where the children are able to maintain their culture, learn new skills, receive nutritious meals and thrive. As principal of the local school, Richar oversees the primary and secondary schooling for 221 Quechuan students, teaches Spanish language classes so students are able to engage beyond their local community, and provides vocational training opportunities so students have the skills to earn an income once they graduate. The nutritious meals program has fed 532 students from the Huama and nearby Chumpepokes community schools.