Ancestral Music
Our Ancestral Music Program, led by Professor Carlos Amaya, is designed to teach and preserve the culture and identity of the Wayuu people through music, dance, and traditional instruments. With a focus on natural and experiential learning, students will explore topics such as anthropology, history, cosmogony, nature, and onomatopoeias. Through imitation, narration, and staging of stories, myths and ancestral legends will be recreated, and students will have the opportunity to perform in groups. With 75 children in our program, our goal is to transmit the wisdom of Wayuu culture to new generations.
The Intercultural Wayuu Taya Orchestra
The Intercultural Wayuu Taya Orchestra Program is dedicated to providing opportunities for young people to learn and grow through music. We believe that music can be a powerful tool for education, personal development, and cultural preservation.
Our program is led by the National System of Youth and Children's Orchestras and Choirs of Venezuela, also known as "El Sistema," which was founded by the renowned Maestro José Antonio Abreu.
As a team, we align our work with the core values of "El Sistema," which include social justice, inclusion, and human development. We currently work with 271 kids and have over 100 on the waiting list, demonstrating the high demand for our program and the need for support to expand our reach.
Being a part of a training school for citizens with opportunities and recognition, such as the Guinness World Record in 2021 for the participation of 12,000 musicians playing Tchaikovsky's Slavonic March, is a constant inspiration that motivates us to do more.
Our program also aims to preserve the indigenous music, languages, and culture of the Wayuu people. We can help the Wayuu community fight poverty and preserve their unique cultural heritage through music.
We prioritize human development in our work, recognizing that music education can profoundly impact individuals and communities. We measure the impact of our work and consistently work to improve. We are committed to sustainability in terms of our program, the movement, and our member organizations.
We invite you to join us in our mission to bring hope and opportunity through music. Your support can help us to reach more young people, preserve indigenous culture, and make a real and lasting impact on the Wayuu community. Together, aligned with the core values of El Sistema, we can empower the next generation of leaders, musicians, and cultural ambassadors.
Music Heals International
Music Heals International has awakened a passion for music in children around the world, inspiring their artistic development, resilience and creativity.
In a valuable collaboration with the Wayúu Tayá Foundation, they have started a music education programme in the Camuro sector of the Mara municipality, Venezuela.
Since July 2023, a group of 18 children have been receiving guitar lessons at the welcoming Apuna farm. With the arrival of new instruments, the excitement and motivation of the young musicians is growing day by day.
This first class comes from the Wayúu ethnic group, the largest indigenous community in Venezuela.
Through music, the children are finding a source of hope and joy, creating a future full of melodies that resonate with their spirit and culture.
Thank you Music Heals International and Core Response for making this possible.
WAYUÚ Technology Education
Additional Information
The program “Tecnología para la Educación del Wayuu (TEW)” (Technology for the Wayuu Education) is an educational project designed by the Wayuu Taya Foundation to support the formation of children as bilingual individuals and also to strengthen their identity and sense of ownership and leadership for the development of their communities with the use of computerized technology.
In 2006 the Unidad Educativa Jesús Redentor used its first two classrooms, thanks to the Wayuu Taya Foundation and The United States Embassy, with the purpose of encouraging self-learning in children with the use of multimedia software designed with elements from their own socio-cultural backgrounds.
Towards the end of 2007, HP opened three classrooms and a virtual lab equipped with 11 computers, a printer, a video projector, a projection screen and a digital camera, at the Unidad Educativa Jesús Redentor. The company obtained its funding to do this project via its corporative program Tecnología para la Educación y de la Ley Orgánica de Ciencia, Tecnología e Investigación (LOCTI). Volunteers from HP dictated courses to the entire educational community to teach them how to use and take care of their computers.
Children take part in a program called “Conociendo mi Laboratorio de Computacion” (Getting to Know my Computer Lab), in which they begin their experience with the use of computers, they learn the norms about taking care of their lab and begin to acquire basic skills in the use of the computer’s mouse and keyboard.
Once they feel comfortable with the use of the computer, the students learn to use MS Office Word, under the program “Escribir para Expresar” (Write to Express), in which the child’s creativity is expressed in a written manner.
Wayuu Taya worked with the leaders of the communities and created the first computer dictionary in Wayunaiki for the preservation of the Wayuu Language. Thousands of copies have been distributed among schools in Venezuela and Colombia.
SHUKUMAJAYA
“Shukumajaya”, which means “beginning” in Wayuunaiki, is the Wayuu name chosen to identify the first edification built by this organization, for indigenous women to get together and work protected from the harsh weather of the location. The Shukumajaya is a big hut or churuata where they can knit.
With the support of other organizations, not only has the Foundation created a work place, but they have also become providers of the necessary materials to elaborate colorful artisan handbags. These bags, known as “Susu”, are a part of the Wayuu’s traditional symbols. They are also the product of a patient creation, an imaginative mix of colors and a careful and thorough labor which takes 8 hours a day, during 20 days to make each piece.
Shukumajaya is also the social space where counseling and orientation in family planning, nutrition and hygiene are given.