FE Y ALEGRÍA. ANOTHER 76 LATIN AMERICAN YOUNG ADULTS GRADUATED IN MILAN.

Quality education for all. This is the spirit of Fe y Alegría, which aims to provide inclusive and equitable education in line with the UN’s 2030 agenda. In mid-July, for the twenty-second consecutive year, 76 young and adult Latin Americans in Milan graduated from the Irfeyal Institute of Fe y Alegría Milano, obtaining a high school diploma that will enable them to pursue further studies and careers in Italy. For over two decades, Fe y Alegría Milano, in collaboration with Irfeyal Ecuador and Istituto Leone XIII, has offered a semi-presential study program with classes on Saturday afternoons and Sundays. “70% of the graduates are women,” explains Kessia Chamba Castillo, the director of Fe y Alegría Milano. “The students’ ages range from 18 to 58, with an average age of 26. They come from Peru, Ecuador, El Salvador, Colombia, and Bolivia. Although their journey is not easy, they are very resilient and determined. Fe y Alegría Milano, Genoa, and Rome serve as a bridge for Latin American people to continue their human and academic education in Italy.”

The event was attended by the Consul General of Ecuador in Milan, Ambassador Juan Carlos Castrillón, the Consul General of Peru in Milan, Minister Ana Teresa Lecaros Terry, the Consul of El Salvador in Milan, Dr. Julio Martínez, and the Responsible for the Pastoral of the Jesuit Education Foundation, Father Alessandro Viano SJ.

Matteo Andrade Quizhpe, an 18-year-old from Ecuador, who achieved the highest grade in the diploma and whose mother is a former student, says, “I arrived in Italy 9 months ago. Thanks to the Irfeyal Fe y Alegría Institute, I can pursue my dream of studying computer engineering and grow personally and professionally in Italy.”

During the event, a collaboration agreement was signed with the organizers of the cultural event “Mi Lindo Ecuador” to support a vulnerable student through a scholarship for the academic year 2023/2024.

Since 1955, Fe y Alegría has been dedicated to supporting education for the segments of the population with fewer opportunities in Latin America, Africa, and Europe, making it a means of personal and community transformation, with the aim of building a fairer and more inclusive world.

In Italy, where the association has been present since 2001, around 400 people benefited from its services in 2022/2023, including enrollees in the institutes, training courses, orientation, and integration meetings. The main recipients are young and adult Latin Americans. Over the twenty-two years of educational activities, there have been over a thousand graduates, with 75% being women, and 40% of them being mothers. Currently, over 70% of the students aim to pursue university education, and the majority wish to stay in Italy.

The students come from the first and second generations of Ecuador, Peru, the Dominican Republic, Bolivia, El Salvador, Colombia, Mexico, Honduras, Paraguay, and Venezuela. Currently, there are 44 people, including teaching and non-teaching staff, involved in social cooperatives and networks, with 35% being volunteers.