Elisa Sagredo, student of the online Master’s in International Cooperation and Emancipatory Education, on placement in Peru

Date: 2025 June 20

Elisa is currently finishing the online master’s in International Cooperation and Emancipatory Education, and was eager to put her learning into practice. In her search, she contacted Hegoa to request an extracurricular internship, hoping to find an NGO with field projects outside Spain.

That is how she discovered Egoaizia, an organisation based in Eibar, which runs six projects in Ethiopia and five in Peru. The connection was made very quickly. Elisa was drawn to the projects, and the Egoaizia staff were very helpful, committed, enthusiastic and very approachable. She was thrilled.

Elisa arrived in Peru on 24 April. From Lima, she travelled to Alto Piura, in the Piura district, where she now works with local partners from the CIPCA (Peasant Research and Promotion Centre). Her work falls under the Comprehensive Development component, supporting projects on teenage pregnancy prevention, egalitarian masculinities and citizenship and leadership.

They are currently developing a training module for teachers on teenage pregnancy prevention using the learning stations methodology. This is being implemented in four schools in the rural areas of San Juan de Bigote and Lalaquiz.

Another initiative involves supporting teachers and facilitators in developing educational research projects, with activities based in Canchaque and San Miguel de El Faique.

Together with her colleague Nadia, Elisa divides her time between office and field work, and truly enjoys sharing everyday life with the people around her. “I love talking, sitting down and listening. Learning about other ways of life… I believe that kind of sharing enriches your life and fills your heart. I couldn’t be happier because I’m exactly where I want to be.”

If you would like to know more about Elisa’s experience and Egoaizia, you can visit the organisation’s volunteer blog, HURBIL. To hear more from other students on placement, visit Hegoa’s YouTube channel.

And if you would like to experience something similar to what Elisa has described, you can find more information about the online Master’s in International Cooperation and Emancipatory Education here.