BARRIO (Ecuador Times) – Amy Chalán Vacacela, a young migrant with roots in the Chukidel Ayllullakta community, studied at Harvard University and obtained a Bachelor’s Degree in Social Sciences, making her the first indigenous person of the Kichwa Saraguro people to graduate from one of the best universities in the world.

At 22 years old, the young woman is one of the first in her family to study at the University and although she admits that it has not been easy, today she expresses great satisfaction for the path she has traveled, for the challenges she has overcome and for what she plans for. Her future.

His grandfather, José Antonio Vacacela, immigrated to the United States in 1994; Her grandmother, Laurita Quizhpe, left Ecuador in 2000 and after two years, she and her mother, María Elena Vacacela, migrated, a journey that for Amy marked the beginning of her path to Harvard.

“Not only is it a personal success, this achievement says a lot about how this path has been built since my family came almost 30 years ago. We are migrants, low-income, we came undocumented, we faced many barriers in the system, but my family was a great support since my childhood to be here today,” Amy told El Mercurio, from New York.

Leader

Amy Chalán grew up in the town of Tarrytown in New York and the footprint she has on the University is extensive. She has served as a student coordinator in the Minority Recruitment Program at Harvard, through which she has provided support for the entry of Latino and indigenous youth.

Knowing both sides of the coin: migration and its difficulties, but also the world of opportunities, led Amy to lean towards social work and work with migrant communities and low-income children to instill in them a passion for university study.

She founded the ‘Metamorphosis’ program, which promotes accessibility for undocumented students in the college application process.

In addition, he leads cultural and social groups, was part of the ‘Quechua Global Indigeneity Initiative at Harvard University’ and presented his academic and social work at ‘The Annual Meeting of the Quechua Alliance and the Kuyayky Foundation conference’.

Pandemic

During her studies at Harvard in 2020, when the pandemic broke out, Amy went through a stage of depression which she describes as “dark on a mental and spiritual level.” She thought about withdrawing from the university, but she decided to take a semester that the University allowed her and returned to her roots, to the Kichwa Saraguro people.

“Returning to my land where my ancestors are from and delving into my roots gave me energy in the darkest period of my life. I was able to learn about my traditions, the music of my town, meet my family and be part of the mingas,” says Amy.

And the young migrant considers that this decision led her to find herself, to know who she is and where she comes from to continue building her future.

Event promotion

Over the course of her career at Harvard, Amy organized the ‘Saraguro Sk8’ youth meeting, aimed at promoting intergenerational dialogue about depression and suicide through sports and youth culture through ‘skateboarding’.

He also established collaboration with bilingual intercultural schools in Saraguro, where he gave talks on the migrant reality and empowerment of indigenous youth.

Amy founded the virtual educational program ‘Wallpak Wamprakuna’, with the collaboration of other young Kichwa leaders. This program facilitates learning, cultural awareness, and the exchange of experiences among Kichwa youth living in Europe, the United States, and Ecuador.

As part of his undergraduate thesis, he organized the first meeting of Kichwa youth in Saraguro for International Youth Day, called ‘Wambra Kapary’.

Together with several professionals, artists, activists and young people from Otavalo, the Amazon and Saraguro, they developed inter-people and inter-generational learning sessions on cultural resistance and youth empowerment through music, art, ancestral medicine and dance. , among others.

Their vision for the future is that the world sees indigenous youth as agents of change, opening different paths for people and weaving networks of solidarity towards a just and equitable future, without forgetting their roots.