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Acceso International was founded in 1996 by Dr. Christine Gervais, a young Canadian woman, who was inspired by her travels in Latin America and the Caribbean. Acutely aware of her own scholarship privileges, she initiated Acceso International to address the disparity between her educational opportunities and those of students in economically disadvantaged countries. She is now joined by over thirty volunteers who share her vision of educational equality. Together, they work to provide educational opportunities for socio-economically disadvantaged children, youth and women in Latin America, the Caribbean and in Canada.
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Acceso International is an incorporated, not-for-profit, non-political, non-denominational and non-governmental, Ottawa-based Canadian charitable organization, which is completely volunteer-operated. Its mandate is to promote and enable greater access to all levels of education in Latin America and the Caribbean.
Acceso International works with locally-based and Canadian affiliated organizations to provide financial support for marginalized children, youth and women so that they may study in their own country, within their own culture and in their own language. To this end, Acceso International provides bursary assistance for individuals attending pre-schools, primary schools, high schools and post-secondary level institutions. It also provides educational materials for pre-schools, day cares, schools, libraries, women’s centres, orphanages and homework centres.
Acceso International's directing officers, members and volunteers engage in project management, awareness, research and fund-raising activities. The directing officers work in collaboration with locally-based organizations to determine project development, effectiveness and continuity. For bursary allocation at the secondary and post-secondary levels, individual recipients are selected based on the criteria of academic achievement, community involvement and financial need. The bursaries are designed to defray the costs of tuition, supplies, transportation and accommodation. Annual progress reports are filed for each student recipient to ensure accountability.
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Acceso International's work is based on an understanding that despite the efforts of governmental & non governmental organizations in the advancement of education, access remains a significant problem in many developing countries. Although educational facilities may already exist, not all children and youth may attend them due to geographic dislocation, financial barriers or lack of space and resources. The problem of unequal access to education is particularly significant for individuals living in rural or remote areas of developing countries. Therefore, Acceso International gives higher priority to individuals, schools and groups who are considered more vulnerable due to their extreme geographic dislocation and economic disadvantage.
Acceso International is also aware that the obstacles to accessible education are much more complicated than economic disadvantage. Other factors that erode the conditions and experiences of education are devastating and critical; they include war, violence, displacement, corruption, injustice, inequality, civil conflict, repression, exploitation, discrimination, natural disasters and grave human rights violations. The horror of war, the pain of poverty, the disorientation of displacement and the deceitfulness of injustice are indeed paralyzing impediments to education. In this light, Acceso International is attempting, along with our student recipients, to address the complex challenges that hinder education and progressive change.
To this end, Acceso International attempts to ensure that the basic human right of education is guaranteed and that it is equally accessible to all, according to Article 26 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Through its initiatives, Acceso International seeks to increase social, economic, cultural and gender equality.
Acceso International is also contributing to the achievement of the United Nations Millennium Development Goals established by the United Nations Millennium Declaration. Acceso International works mainly towards Millennium Development Goal 2 which sets out to “achieve universal primary education” and to “ensure that all boys and girls complete a full course of primary schooling.” By extension, Acceso International’s efforts are also seeking to “eradicate extreme poverty and hunger” (Goal 1), to “promote gender equality and empower women” (Goal 3) and to “develop a global partnership for development” (Goal 8).
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At the core of Acceso International’s education and development work are profound principles of equality, solidarity, peace, human rights and social justice. Such principles are imperative to the struggle against the obstacles that hinder accessible education.
Acceso International operates not only as a charity, but also as a meaningful solidarity. Acceso International functions in a non-hierarchical way by focusing on equality, consensus building and collegiality among its founders, directors, members, volunteers, counterparts and beneficiaries. The aim is to carry out our initiatives in collaboration with our students, partners and supporters so that together, we may create appropriate and relevant opportunities for learning and progress. Through these endeavors, Acceso International provides the means through which children, youth and women can maintain hope for a brighter future for themselves, their families and their local, national and international communities.
Our founding principles enable us to think beyond the conditions of destitution and the assumptions of incapacity. They inspire us to reclaim hope and courage so that we can recreate and maintain the conditions of peace, security, equality and justice that are so vital to the accessibility and experience of education. In this sense, we are volunteering to change the unchangeable, to realize the impossible and to overcome the insurmountable. We know that change is possible through relations of solidarity and trust, open dialogue, endurance and shared hope. At Acceso International, we are privileged to support and work with people and organizations who seek to transform their educational realities into spaces of peace, freedom and equality.
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Acceso International's vision includes universal access to education based on conditions and relations of solidarity, equality, human rights, peace and social justice. Education must not only be accessible, but it must also be a safe, peaceful and forward-looking experience. Our transformative vision seeks to render education an uplifting, liberating and inspiring journey, which is such an essential source of progress and change within the seemingly permanent contexts of oppression, violence and poverty. Acceso International’s successes thus far give us the confidence that more progressive realities and better futures are possible.
Acceso International’s vision is inspired by the Spanish word “adelante,” which means “to move forward” or “to go on.” “Adelante” serves as a positive principle of hope and courage. Not only has Acceso International moved forward since 1996, but our collective efforts have enabled our student recipients to do the same. In this light, we focus on the signs of endurance and the glimpses of progress. As we move forward, we are strengthened and encouraged by our optimistic and principled vision of making education an accessible, peaceful and successful journey for all.
