Johis Alarcón

When the pandemic struck Ecuador, it forced many indigenous and Afro-Ecuadorian families to return to their places of origin. This work highlights a renewed sense of community in the Andean highlands and coastal rainforest bordering Colombia. Isolated populations were the hardest hit by the school closures. The response was to re-launch community schools that promote cultural identity and language, protection of the local environment and whose teachers are also part of the community. These populations have reopened "community schools", which are local, bilingual and intercultural educational spaces that prevent school dropout, reduce the spread of the virus and promote identity, organization and environmental protection.

See more in the @guardian. Produced with support from @henrylucefoundation as part of a Magnum Foundation grant to show the impact of the global health crisis through a variety of perspectives.