ArcaBeta.org

Who are we?

Miguel Pena used his time during the pandemic to search for passionate individuals who wanted to make an impact. He ended up building a team of core people, each person from a different area of the world, who came together to create an organization in Peru, Arca Beta! Arca Beta’s main goals lie in building and maintaining a sustainable environment and bettering education through a digital platform in the Amazon of Peru.

What has been done?

SCHOOL CLUBS

We have focused on the education aspect, partnering with an Amazonian school in the remote village of Iquitos. Since 2021, Arca Beta has been meeting with educators worldwide who could help contribute to our initial Digital Learning club. Alongside this search, we brainstormed how to bring the Internet to this school for the first time along with used computers. We finally came to a solution! As of August 29, 2022 Arca Beta, with the help of Fortitude, raised enough money to set up two classrooms with routers and officially begin our virtual classes within our Digital Learning club. 

This club currently features virtual classes that help these children learn computer skills such as word, excel, PowerPoint, graphic design, coding, and more. For the majority of our students, this was the first time they had ever seen and used a computer. With the implementation of a stronger internet source in 2023 using Star-link, we’ve been able to withstand the Amazonian weather and add more clubs for our students - including English, Environment and Drama Therapy for our teens. 

CHOCOLATADA

On December 19, 2022 we used $800 to give the students and their families a fabulous Christmas party, based around a Peruvian holiday tradition, Chocolatada! We met up prior in Lima to shop and bought treats and school-related presents for the children to help them celebrate Christmas and hoped to get them excited about continuing their studies within the Digital Club. During this celebration, we presented gifts as well as different levels of certificates for participation. The students performed a tribal dance from their region to welcome us. The Arca Beta team each shared a speech about what their roles are and why they are passionate about this kind of work. We also had a member share a presentation on why we have started Arca Beta, our long-term goals, our progress thus far, and how it can benefit their family and community's future.

We invited political officials to come to Chocolatada, one showed up which is the head of the Department of Education for this region. He shared a speech appreciating our work and said he'd like to duplicate our Digital Club in other nearby schools!

PROVIDING MEALS

Iquitos is a farming community, and to many families in this area, work comes before school because it brings immediate income to put food on the table. In 2023, we raised $3,000 to provide our students with school lunches. This simple act inspired the student’s families to be more excited about having their kids learn and even encouraged them to come.

It’s truly thanks to YOU we’ve brought more opportunities into their children's lives! 

What is our current goal?

CALL TO ACTION!

We are beyond grateful for all the support that has helped us get this far. We are now focusing our attention to build our Amazonian Community Center so that our programs can be offered, not only to students, but to anyone in the community who wants to expand their knowledge and skillsets. Our goal is to empower the people of this region by providing a variety of growth opportunities. 

We wish to include classrooms as well as an area for accommodation. We will eventually use this center as a place to host volunteers from around the world who wish to learn about the region and lend a helping hand to making this area thrive.

We are set to start construction in March 2025 and are looking to raise $10,000 USD by summer 2024 to cover our starting costs.

With your help, we are able to continue empowering education at the heart of the Peruvian Amazon!

We thank you all for your support!