At 58 years old, community agent MarĂa Esperanza RodrĂguez is fulfilling a dream: to study technical nursing at the Archbishop Loayza Institute. Since she was a child, she had witnessed how several people accessed scholarships to become professionals, and she never believed that one day she would enjoy the same opportunity.
“It never entered my mind that I would one day win a scholarship,” she says.
Since 2021, Socios En Salud (SES), together with the Health Promotion Directorate of the Ministry of Health (MINSA), has been offering technical training to its community health agents through Academic Excellence Scholarships, also known as Beca SES. Rodriguez belongs to the second round of beneficiaries who accessed the possibility of completing technical studies of up to three years.
It all started through a nationwide call for applications, disseminated through the social networks of MINSA and SES. After submitting her documents in the postulation and going through a complementary interview, she recalls experiencing “a very great emotion” when she learned that she had been selected to continue her professional training in a higher education institution licensed by the National Superintendence of University Higher Education.
Rodriguez has not stopped striving to maintain excellent academic standards. “I have been looking for doctors, obstetricians and graduates when they leave me assignments,” she maintains. And, for her, this support has been key to empowering her work as a community agent. “I’m gaining more experience and practice through my studies,” she says.
En el DĂa del Agente Comunitario de Salud, cinco agentes comunitarias de Socios En Salud de la cuarta ronda alzan la Beca SES que les permitirá cursar carreras tĂ©cnicas.
Foto de Julio LĂłpez / SES
A recognition of her efforts
The SES Scholarship began as an initiative aimed at the sons and daughters of community agents. In its first round, it went on to benefit four young people who completed technical careers in physiotherapy, graphic design and topography. But in the following three editions, Socios En Salud and MINSA decided to direct the scholarship to the social actors themselves.
“We want to recognize the work and contribution they make to the health system, giving them the opportunity to acquire a technical career, improve their skills and knowledge in health and increase their employability. This effort allows us to empower community agents and their communities to reduce gaps in health care,” says Helen Marin, head of SES’s Advocacy and Community Outreach Unit.
Throughout the four rounds of funding, 21 community health agents from different regions of the country - Loreto, Piura, Ancash, Ucayali, Junin, Ica, Ayacucho, Cusco, Lima and Callao - have been able to pursue or study technical careers, many of them related to health, such as nursing, pharmacy, among others, to increase their employment opportunities.
This is how promising the outlook looks for community agent Marlube Mauricio, who is studying technical nursing at the La Pontificia Institute in her native Huamanga (Ayacucho). Although she recognizes that the road is difficult, due to her work as a mother and the academic demands of her institute, for her “it is not impossible” to maintain her scholarship and get ahead.
“Personally, I feel useful. I’m about to finish (my degree) in December and when I make my home visits, I can take care of children, pregnant women, the elderly. If I find one of them with a minor injury, I have the material to heal them,” he stresses.
It is important to highlight that Socios En Salud provides support to the scholarship holders during the three years of technical training. In addition, it evaluates their socioeconomic situation periodically, ensuring that they can complete their studies and obtain their degree.
Uniendo fuerzas, la Beca SES puede llegar a más agentes comunitarios en todo el Perú que busquen la superación personal y empleabilidad.
Foto de Julio LĂłpez / SES
More rounds for the SES Scholarship
MarĂa Esperanza RodrĂguez and Marlube Mauricio are close to getting their professional degree as technical nurses. Like them, more community agents are strengthening their job skills under the SES Fellowship. However, more stakeholders need to be reached in the next rounds.
“One of our current challenges is to maintain the continuity of new rounds of scholarships, which requires support from civil society and other government sectors. Therefore, we are seeking public and private funding for the fifth round to maintain or expand the number of annual scholarships,” says Marin.
Keeping the SES Fellowship ongoing, likewise, means continuing to strengthen access to health care in underserved communities by empowering those on the front lines of primary care. Together, we can forge a tangible impact on the health and well-being of our most vulnerable populations.
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