The Team

Jesi Medina Becerra

Jesi has been a teacher for 32 years starting out in a one-room schoolhouse in a countryside village near the mountain city of Otuzco, Peru.  Jesi has been a teacher in La Esperanza for over 25 years where she has seen students who come from very humble beginnings grow into thriving adults.

 

Jesi has two daughters Rubi (who has a master’s degree in Psychology), and Estefany (who is studying to be a school teacher in Germany).  Jesi is the mother-in-law (La Suegrita Querida) of Chris Payne.

Jesi with her students at the Indoamerica elementary school.

Carmen Arteaga Contreras

Carmen is a teacher with more than 30 years of experience. She has spent her entire career working in the poorest areas of the city of Trujillo. During her time teaching, she has met so many children from low-income families who have a strong desire to get ahead. It is her desire to support these children so that they can fulfill their dreams.

Profesora Carmencita en la camisa azul.

Marcella Rebaza Floriano

Marcella is a primary education teacher with specializations in the teaching of Communication and Mathematics. She began her work as a teacher in the marginalized urban areas of Trujillo where she saw firsthand the needs of the children of that community.

 

Due to her dedication to service and spirit of solidarity, she seeks ways to support the children and provide them with better opportunities so they can have the education necessary to function in society.

Profesora Marcella with a student at the Niños del Oro community center.

Marigil Katharini (Catty) Ramos Blas

Marigil is a teacher at the Indoamerica elementary school.  She has a wonderful heart for helping children and is one of the primary volunteers at the Niños del Oro community center.

Jesi and Marigil with students.

Christopher Payne

Chris first traveled to South America as a Water and Sanitation Peace Corps volunteer in 2007.  He lived there for 2.5 years designing and building gravity-flow drinking water systems in small mountain villages of Bolivia and Peru.  Chris met his (beautiful and intelligent 😉 wife Rubi (the daughter of Jesi Medina) in Trujillo in 2009. 

 

Chris has a bachelor of science degree in Civil Engineering from the University of Florida and is currently a full-time Firefighter / Paramedic in Pembroke Pines, Florida.  Chris is the father of two beautiful daughters Rachel and Jessica.

Rubi, Jessica, Chris, and Rachel in the Plaza de Armas of Trujillo, Peu

Learn more about volunteering with Bright Futures Peru

Please click the ‘Volunteer‘ link to learn more about how you can help in Peru or spread the word to others who may want to volunteer with Bright Futures Peru.