Bernardo Yegros

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About

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I am 15 years old and live with my family in Tobati, Cordillera. I study at the Institute Reinaldo Macchi. I really like sciences and speaking languages like Guarani, Spanish and a little Portuguese and English. At this point in my life I am studying a lot of English so that I will be able to express myself in a language which is very important in everyday life. In my free time I like to ride around on my bicycle and to read books. In my high school, the professors teach very well and I like that because the education that I receive will help me to build a better future for me and my family. When I am older I want to study something related to the sciences but I haven’t decided what. I am sure that I will find the right path follow. At home, my mom takes care of the house and the children and my dad is a farmer. I have 11 brothers and sisters; some of them are already adults and have their own families.

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About Tobatí:Tobatí is both a town and a provincial district within the department (state) of Cordillera, Paraguay. The population of the district of Tobatí is 21,315 of which 16,538 (75.5%) are under the age of 19. Over 33% of this population lives beneath the international poverty line while as high as 70% live in relative poverty. A large percentage of the houses in the region lack running water and electricity.

This poverty is especially prevalent in the region's rural villages, known as compañías. Most men and boys in the region work in small brick or tile factories that pay at most one or two dollars a day. A large number of girls work as domestic servants. Schools run in three or four hour shifts in order to allow for children to work and also due to overpopulation and a lack of resources in the local schools. Many children in Tobatí are employed.

About Macchi School: The education of a single person can have a positive effect on the lives of thousands of people. This principle is the foundation of the Macchi School. Located in a part of the world plagued by poverty and short horizons, the Macchi School is a tool that is being used to transform the South American district of Tobati into a better place for future generations to live.

The school provides a means for the community's brightest minds from the poorest neighborhoods and villages to be nurtured with the hope that they will not only complete a university program, but will return to to Tobati afterward to take up the difficult task of solving some of the town's most serious problems. To reach this goal the Macchi School offers a rigorous academic curriculum while at the same time, imparts a strong sense of public service on all of its students.