
Technology for Wayuu Education (TWE) Program is an education project designed by Wayuu Taya Foundation to use Computer Technology to improve Wayuu children’s writing, reading and speaking skills in Spanish as well as their native tribal language (Wayunaiki), strength their identity as Wayuu indigenes and encourage leadership for communities development.
The TWE Program was launched at Jesus Redentor elementary school and its objective is to reinforce the auto-learning capacity of children by interacting with specialized software multimedia tools, designed with elements from their own socio-cultural environment.
In a first phase, children start an introductory program named “Conociendo mi Laboratorio de Computación” (In english “Knowing my computer lab”). In this short program the students have their first contacts with a computer, understand how does it works, learn the lab rules and start developing the basic skills to use the mouse and the keyboard.
After finishing the introductory program, children learn how to use the word processor MS Office Word by following a “Write to express” learning strategy. This strategy stimulates children creativity, so they can express themselves by writing their own ideas.
Finally, children learn to use MS Encarta as a tool to search information about history, geography, science and general culture.

Wayúu
Tayá
is working on its new program: The Roof Project.
The
Roof Project is a unique, pan-Latin American,
fully integrated Life Center. The Center combines an
ambulatory care hospital, a preschool with a supplementary
feeding clinic, and a women’s center where local
women will be taught and paid to make handcrafts while
maintaining their culture.
Our
first Roof Center opened last May in
Mara, Venezuela. At Wayúu Tayá's
Roof Centers, children now receive two meals
a day while they attend school. Furthermore, in the
ambulatory nutrition center the children’s parents
will have access to crucial nutritional and medical
information and supplies. The women’s center is
providing the Wayúu women with access to education,
family planning, and parenting classes.

Program
participants will be provided with the tools necessary
to create their handcrafts such as bags. The Foundation
will sell the handcrafts, thereby raising funds on behalf
of the Wayúu people. The objective is to encourage
these women to continue their tradition of handcraft
and maintain their culture, while at the same time creating
a viable workforce for them.
If
you would like to know how you can help us by sponsoring
a portion of The Roof Project, click
here.

“Tepichi Talashi”, means “happy child”,
and that is the name the foundation has chosen for the
first preschool that is part of our Roof Project. With
this, 100 children are guaranteed to have the minimum
infrastructure needed to obtain the primary cycle of
education. The school has bilingual professors teaching
in both Spanish and wayuainiki (Wayuu dialect).
The
children do not only study, sing, sew, or play, but
are also provided with healthcare and nutrition. A medical
group works with “Tepichi Talashi”, providing
medical attention for the children and sanitation tools
for their parents. Additionally, the school serves all
100 students with breakfast and lunch.
Every wayunaiki word selected by the foundation to name
an aspect of the ‘Roof Project’, connects
directly to the world of the Wayuu. “Shukumajaya”,
which means Beginning, is the first roof that our organization
provided for the indigenous women to meet and work,
protected from the elements. We have constructed a “gran
bohío” consistent with the traditions of
the community, where the women of that community can
come together and sew.
The
Wayuu Taya foundation, did not simply create a place
for the women to work, the material is also provided
to make the traditional colorful bags. These bags, known
as “susu’s”, are part of the artisan
tradition of the wayuu taya. This is an art that utilizes
a creative mix of colors, and requires patience and
an attention to detail to make the finished product;
it takes a woman 20 days to create on of these very
special bags. The “Shukumajaya” as part
of the Roof Project, is not only a place where wayuu
women some to work, it also serves as a social environment
where the foundation also provides discussions on family
planning, nutrition, and hygiene.

In much of the developed world, in most cases, it is
safe to say that parents are able to provide nearly
everything that their children need. Children know of
a Santa Clause who receives the letters detailing what
they want most for Christmas. Our foundation also receives
letters from children, however at times there will be
one that stands out among the rest. A letter arrived
from Sorimar Gutierrez from the Parroquia Tamare from
Zulia, Venezuela. She was not writing to request candy
or toys…
Sorimar
Gutierrez described her experience in school and what
she referred to as “Los Lechosos”. We learned
that what she was referring to was a group of trees,
under which many Wayuu children met for their school
classes, as a means of shelter from stormy weather and
the harsh rays of the tropic sun. The Wayuu Taya foundation
knew that the problems that Sorimar was describing were
a very small part of a much larger problem: there was
no physical school for the children to attend.
Our
NGO was able to raise the funds necessary to make the
wishes of Sorimar a reality. For this project $20,000
was raised through the Wayuu Taya organization. The
foundation recently inaugurated the first two classrooms,
“Los Lechosos”, which are now open and accepting
students. Today the school has over 500 students, with
such high demand that there are two sessions of classes
each day. Now, thanks to the card from Sorimar, the
Wayuu community of the zuliano municipality of Mara
have a school building with a learning environment more
conducive to the education and safety of every student.

During
the past two years, The Wayúu
Tayá Foundation has been assisting the
Nawalayúu Antonio María Sinamaica Nutritional
Center in Sinamaica, Zulia, Venezuela. It is operated
by Dr. Vicente Urdaneta, M.D. and nutritionist Yoleida
Martinez, M.D.
This
center provides crucial nutritional, educational and
medical supplies to about 50 children a week who come
from Colombia and Venezuela. It operates everyday from
7:00 am to 8:00 pm.
The
lives of about 1,000 chidren have been saved since Wayúu
Tayá began helping this center. The supply of
food and medical attention is particularly important
for pregnant women and children under the age of five.
Before this center was established, one out ofevery
six children who lived in the area had no food or medical
help. The Foundation intends to continue supporting
these women and children.