Native Future’s education program began with three scholarship students in the year 2000. Founder Basilio Perez was determined to advance the education of students in the rural Comarca Ngäbe-Buglé. Since then, the program has grown beyond Basilio’s expectations, covering the costs of high school students, sending more students to university, and allowing members of the women’s artisan co-op to complete their high school education.
Education is crucial for the advancement of Indigenous women, who often miss out on opportunities to finish high school or pursue higher education because of childrearing and other domestic responsibilities. The Buenos Aires Artisan Co-op provides the women in this rural community with an opportunity to learn important skills like reading, writing, and math that can drastically improve their lives. These skills, while often taken for granted in developed countries, form the foundation for better business practices, such as accounting. In 2022, a total of $4,000 in scholarship funds was disbursed to the Artisan co-op.
None of this incredible progress that has been made in this community in the last 22 years would have been possible without your generous support. Thank you so much for continuing Basilio Perez’s dreams of educating Indigenous youth and women in Panama!
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