Aguipade teaches six classes of grades 1-3, with one session of three classes in the morning and a second afternoon session. Each class in our open-air school contains approximately 50 students, most of whom would not have an opportunity to read and write without our help. We have taught more than 1,000 children to read and write since our school opened in 2003.

Aguipade’s elementary school was built with local materials on a donated vacant lot. Logs were hewn into timbers from nearby tropical forests and a post-and-beam structure was erected over a concrete floor. Corrugated metal roofing and woven palm frond lattice walls completed the structure. The school equipment – chairs, tables, desks, blackboards, bulletin boards, and teaching aids such as maps and alphabet charts, were donated from surplus equipment by Douglas County Schools in Colorado.

Students are instructed in reading, writing, arithmetic, science and geography. Portuguese is the official instruction language.

We have plans to expand our elementary school program. We hope to add a school meal through a UN food program to insure our students receive good nutrition. We also are planning a high school. The costs of acquiring a suitable high school facility, with equipment and Portuguese textbooks, is formidable.