Escuela Hogar to reunite generations who grew up within its walls, 50 years on

Escuela Hogar, now the Puerto del Rosario School Residence, will mark its 50th anniversary next Friday, 25 September, with a gathering of former pupils, teachers, staff and families.

The event will begin at 6 pm at the centre and will offer a chance to revisit the history of an institution that played a decisive role in the education of many children from Fuerteventura’s rural communities.

The programme marking its half-century was presented on Thursday, with the participation of Fuerteventura Island Council president Lola García; Island Councillor for Education and Youth Adargoma Hernández; the centre’s head, Yamile Hernández; Puerto del Rosario’s councillor for Historical Heritage, David de León; Island Director of Education Yurena Pérez; and Nicolás Gutiérrez, a former teacher and head of Escuela Hogar who also promoted the initiative.

The anniversary will bring together generations connected to a centre that opened in 1976, when scattered settlements, a shortage of roads and transport difficulties prevented many children from travelling to school each day.

For many of those children, Escuela Hogar was also a family for much of their childhood.

They arrived on Mondays with enough clothes for the week and stayed at the residence until Friday.

There they received an education and meals, and also had access to books, sports, theatre, music, excursions and opportunities to spend time together.

At the presentation, the Island Council president said: “Celebrating these fifty years also means recognising a fundamental part of our history as an island.”

Lola García recalled that the institution enabled many students to continue their education in Fuerteventura and praised the commitment of those who made its operation possible, as well as the families who placed their trust in the centre.

“It will be a reunion full of memories and emotion, but also a tribute to everyone who made Escuela Hogar much more than a place to study,” García said. She argued that its history “is part of Fuerteventura’s collective memory and deserves to be known and shared with new generations”.

The head of the Puerto del Rosario School Residence, Yamile Hernández, said the anniversary was intended to bring together former pupils, teachers, staff, families and others who had been part of the centre’s history. The gathering will provide an opportunity to share experiences and recognise the contribution of an institution established to meet one of the island’s main educational needs.

Puerto del Rosario’s councillor for Heritage, David de León, stressed the need to look back at Fuerteventura 50 years ago to understand the importance of the centre.

A need first raised in 1964

During the presentation, Nicolás Gutiérrez traced the centre’s history.

The idea of setting up an Escuela Hogar in Fuerteventura was first discussed in 1964. The initial proposal was to locate it in Gran Tarajal; later, the possibility of opening two centres, one in the south and another in the capital, was considered.

The decision was eventually made to adapt the former Puerto del Rosario National School. Escuela Hogar was authorised by a ministerial order in December 1975, published in the Official State Gazette on 27 January 1976.

Once the refurbishment work was complete, it began operating provisionally during May and June 1976. Its activity became established with the start of the 1976–1977 school year. The facility was designed to accommodate 210 mixed-gender places and at some stages housed more than 180 children.

Life at the centre involved taking responsibility for the dormitories, dining room and other shared spaces. Pupils learned to get up, wash, make their beds, set the table, tidy up and live alongside one another. “It was preparation for life,” Nicolás Gutiérrez said in an earlier interview with La Voz de Fuerteventura.

Asensa Cabrera, a former member of staff, recalled that “we were like their father, mother and sibling”. Puri Cabrera, who enrolled at the age of six, discovered the library, excursions, music, theatre and the chance to mix with other children, having grown up in a ravine with little contact beyond her family.

Five decades on, the institution has adapted to new needs and continues to operate as the Puerto del Rosario School Residence.

The 25 September event will recognise the teachers, non-teaching staff, carers, families and pupils who shaped its history.

The invitation is open to everyone who was connected with the centre and would like to attend a reunion shaped by memories of an Escuela Hogar that provided education, a family and a future for generations of people in Fuerteventura.