Progress is measured in one more: one more child advancing to secondary school, one more child still in school, one more starting for the first time.
This is the struggle for rural schools in Argentina such as Escuela 1034 in the town of Miraflores in the province of Chaco. Escuela 1034 has approximately 200 students now, most of them Toba, a native group populating the area known as the mouth of the Impenetrable.
The school has existed for more than 30 years in one form or another and classes were held previously in a small evangelical church on the 100 hectares that is Lot 76. In 2004 they gained a real building and now boast four class rooms for grades K-7. Some students make it through seventh grade. Many do not. This year they expect seven students to make it out of primary school and join the approximately 10 students from last year in secondary school. At this point, there is one Toba secondary school graduate from Escuela 1034 in its 30 year history. A statistic they hope to change soon.
The monte, as they call the bush around Miraflores, is harsh. This area of Chaco is one of the most impoverished in Argentina. It is dry, dusty and lacking potable water. It rains only during the summer and infrequently. The native Toba live mostly by raising goats, cows and pigs. No farming is possible without a reliable water source. Houses are made of barro, or mud and straw, floors are dirt and roofs are chapa or tin. If a family has some money the house might be said to be made “of materials,” by which they mean brick. Mud is still used as the preferred binding agent and the floor remains dirt.
In the monte, a new school building, increasing student enrollment and books in Om, the native language of the Toba, are gold star achievements. However, the struggle is reflected in the hungry faces of children who often only eat if they’re at school; the broken shoes of a boy on the soccer field; no modern bathrooms because of a lack of water; lack of gas to cook in the kitchen; and the constant battle to keep the kids coming, keep the girls from getting pregnant and keep the boys from ditching school to work irregular, low-paying jobs.
