By Stéphanie Desruelles, JUSTA’s Chacaya Program Coordinator
Hello! My name is Stéphanie Desruelles. I am from France and am the new Chacaya Program Coordinator, following in the footsteps of Stephanie Gater, who had been involved in the project for the past seven months.
I´m passionate about education and have been working in that field since 1996. I have taught in secondary schools and given adult education classes in the UK for 12 years, and my travels have brought me to Guatemala, where I have found a home and have been living for over two years now.
In recent years, I have become increasingly interested in alternative education methods, as a result of which I currently homeschool my 10-year old daughter, Joanna, and am working in a Montessori school in the town of Quetzaltenango in the highlands of Guatemala.
I first came to Mystical Yoga Farm (MYF) on a retreat and immediately fell in love with the place, its ethos and breathtaking surroundings. I have been back at the MYF several times since on other retreats and individually or with my family when I’ve felt the need to take a break from city life and reestablish balance… I first heard of the Chacaya Education Program at MYF, got in touch with JUSTA’s founder, Jessi, and here I am!!!
I´m delighted to be working with JUSTA and MYF in order to support the school and community of Chacaya in their endeavors for a better education and a better future for their children. Together, we will work on raising scholarship funds to continue to help families send their children to school and aim to expand our current scholarship program in order to raise the number of school attendees within the community. We will coordinate volunteer groups and organize a variety of nutritional, environmental, social and personal development workshops for students.
At the school principal’s request, we will also offer regular teacher training sessions and provide students with access to medical checkups and advice. I feel in my element volunteering to serve this community, believe we´ll be able to do great things together and look forward to our launch of activities next weekend!