OUR STORY

Con Pazion was founded by Leonie van Iersel in December 2017 in the Netherlands. Leonie has worked in managing positions in schools since earning her degree in primary and special education. With a broad experience in primary and secondary education, she served for 8 years as a vice principal at a private high school in the Netherlands and has coached hundreds of children and teachers.

Many of her students are appreciative for her motto: ‘With a diploma you can come a long way but without yourself, you’re nowhere’.

Leonie moved to Peru in April 2017, to make a long-cherished dream come true: creating a sustainable change in the lives of vulnerable children so that they can reach their full potential. To establish that, Leonie left everything behind in the Netherlands.

She started volunteering in the slums of Manchay, an outskirt of Lima, and never left after her first visit. What she witnessed there had a big impact on her and she wanted to share that with the world. She wanted to give the children of Manchay a voice and created a plan to provide them a chance to a better future.

With the Dutch education system in mind, she started a lobby at the Peruvian Ministry of Education to allow an alternative school in the traditional Peruvian public-school system. Leonie’s perspective is that any form of quality education should be allowed within the public school-system which would result in that every child would be given the chance to access quality education for free and give the children a chance to reach their full potential and break the cycle of poverty, no matter their background or resources.

Never in Peruvian history has this ‘idea’ been accepted before and it is a breakthrough, a milestone for education in Peru. After a long and difficult process, finally on March 19th 2021 the revolutionary agreement for the FIRST HOLISTIC PUBLIC SCHOOL in Peru was signed.

Con Pazion is very honored and proud to be given this opportunity.