Our 4th Year Partnering with C.E.B.E. San Antonio

At the Quispicanchi Project, our work has always centered on community, dignity, and opportunity. Few partnerships embody these values more deeply than our collaboration with C.E.B.E. San Antonio Special Needs School, located in the municipality of Huaro, Quispicanchi, Peru — just five minutes down the road from Andahuaylillas, our base of operations.

C.E.B.E. San Antonio serves approximately 50 families who have children with special needs. It is the only institution of its kind in the region, making it a vital lifeline for families who often travel long distances so their children can access education, therapies, and specialized care. The school is more than a place of learning — it is a center of hope, inclusion, and resilience.

Four Years of Shared Work

This year marks the fourth year of our partnership with San Antonio, a relationship that continues to grow in both depth and impact.

Our ongoing support includes:

Sustaining the school’s lunch program, ensuring students receive reliable, nutritious meals five days per week
Collaborating with teachers and families to strengthen daily learning and care environments
Operating the on-campus greenhouse, a project we constructed in 2024 to enhance nutrition, provide hands-on learning opportunities, and promote sustainability

These initiatives address immediate needs, but they also reflect something larger: a long-term investment in the well-being of children who are too often underchampioned.

Infrastructure Challenges and Urgent Realities

Despite the extraordinary dedication of its staff and families, San Antonio faces serious structural challenges.

The current campus — originally built over 20 years ago through a partnership with a European NGO — was constructed without the infrastructure required for modern specialized facilities. Critical therapeutic resources, such as therapy pools and adaptive equipment, cannot be safely or effectively installed within the existing structures.

Compounding these limitations, earthquakes in 2024 caused extensive damage to much of the school’s buildings. With insufficient resources available for major repairs, the physical condition of the campus has become a growing concern for both safety and functionality.

Perhaps most urgently, the land on which the school sits is not owned by San Antonio. The property is leased from an adjacent public school, which has recently notified the director that the lease will be terminated in the near future. This development has transformed long-standing infrastructure challenges into a matter of immediate necessity.

Planning for a New Beginning

In response to these realities, San Antonio has taken a courageous step forward by purchasing a new parcel of land. This decision opens the door to a future where facilities can be purpose-built for specialized education and therapy.

For our part, the Quispicanchi Project is committing significant resources toward making this vision possible.

In the coming phase of our partnership, we will:

Fund and oversee a comprehensive feasibility study for the construction of a new campus
Support initial architectural and design work, ensuring that future facilities meet the real needs of students and staff
Explore long-term support for construction, with a potential build timeline beginning in 2028

This process is not merely about replacing buildings. It is about reimagining what is possible for children with special needs in Quispicanchi — creating spaces designed for accessibility, therapy, safety, and growth.

Why This Matters

Every child deserves an environment where they can learn, develop, and be supported with dignity. For families in rural Peru, access to specialized education is often limited or nonexistent. San Antonio’s role in the region is therefore irreplaceable.

Relocating and rebuilding the school is not simply an infrastructure project. It is an investment in inclusion, educational equity, and the future for those families who rely on this institution.

We are honored to walk alongside the San Antonio community in this next chapter. Their perseverance, care, and unwavering advocacy for their children continue to inspire our work.

Together, we are not only responding to challenges — we are building the foundations for something stronger, safer, and more hopeful.