There are a range of projects of which the ones below are a sample:

La Casita del Quirquincho 

This new project was created in 2008 by 2 German volunteers who came to Argentina.  The mission: “Let’s help make children happier” by collaborating with parents and teachers to obtain a better life for the children in the village of San Miguel.

Most small towns and villages have their own neighbourhood centre where residents gather for the purpose of problem solving and for celebrating festivities. Often poorly funded, the centres get involved in activities as they can - with the public school, the sanitary posts, the maintenance of the public squares, etc. “El Centro Vecinal de San Miguel”, the local neighbourhood centre in San Miguel, is the institution that provides the housing for this project which benefits approximately 40 children, between the ages of 3 and 9.

Volunteers will work in the following areas to achieve the main objectives of the project:

• Teach educational games in order to let children use their leisure time in a productive way
• Help children with their homework
• Teach children to play sports obeying rules and respecting their adversaries
• Offer children a healthy atmosphere away from the street
• Provide a nutritious afternoon tea, or “merienda” as a means of helping the poorest children with their daily diet.

About the host community

La Rioja, is the capital of the province with about 100,000 inhabitants and the seat of the provincial government. It is a typical city of Spanish origin, with old churches, traditional buildings and important museums. There are a lot of public offices and most of the people work as civil servants. There are also many schools and some private teaching institutes and a very important national university.

Chilecito is a small town (42,000 inhabitants including the nearby villages). It is a picturesque place surrounded by small and rocky hills and not far from El Famatina, which is one of the highest mountains in the country. People are very friendly and you will soon feel home in this place. They are fond of their traditions and young people love playing the guitar and singing folk songs. In Chilecito, the main resource is agriculture and there are important grape plantations, as well as other fruits and vegetables. The production of wine is the most important industry and there are modern wine cellars.

In both towns, the weather is mild in winter (June-August), with an average temperature of 10°C (50°F). In summer (December-February), it can get very hot during the day, more than 30°C (86°F). Rain is very scarce.

Childcare

The San Francisco School is located in the southern part of the city of Santa Fe in an area considered the historic core of the city where the political, commercial and cultural activities of Santa Fe take place. However, the students are not from this area, they come mostly from a marginal area and some even further away.

The school was founded by the Franciscans and its mission has always been to educate the poor minority following the mandate of San Francisco the Poor of Assisi, who chose to live in poverty. Ages of children attending the school range between 5 and 14. Families on a whole are large and they belong to marginal and excluded groups, are very poor, and are very needy. The school offers a meal plan (lunch and a glass of milk) to 300 out of the 490 students. In many cases this is the only meal the students can count on having during the day. The school also hosts handicapped students with special needs such as loss of sight and Downs syndrome.

Location

Santa Fe, with 480,000 inhabitants, is the capital city of the province of Santa Fe known as the “Ciudad Cordial” (Friendly City). It is historically important as it is here where the national constitution was written. For those who enjoy shopping, sitting at a typical café, or just being part of the city’s hustle and bustle, Santa Fe offers it’s down town pedestrian area. Outside the city centre, the most important highlight is its waterfront overlooking the Setubal Lake, a must for walking, jogging or simply basking in the sun.

One of the nation’s most representative cities: our Constituent Assembly of 1813 and the Convention for the Amendments of the Constitution took place there. A tunnel under the Paraná River that links the cities of Santa Fe and Paraná in the province of Entre Rios makes communication easier and is the only one of its kind in South America. The province of Santa Fe has a population of over 3,038,000 and an area of 133,007 square km. It is a rich agricultural area.

Teacher's Assistant Programme

Location/ Host community description

Avellaneda is located in the north-east of the province of Santa Fe, Argentina. It has an area of 937 km2 (urban and rural area). It runs along Road 11 which enables the connection with countries which are part of MERCOSUR (Brazil-Paraguay-Uruguay-Venezuela). Avellaneda is situated 320 km. from Santa Fe, the capital city of the province, and 972 km. from Buenos Aires, the capital city of Argentina.

It is an agro-industrial city whose population is of 25,000 inhabitants. It still keeps the cultural roots of its ancestors who came from Italy (Friuli-Venezia Giulia-Trento). Avellaneda is a small beautiful city founded on January 18th, 1879 with the arrival of its Italian immigrants.

The city offers a number of cultural and athletic spaces. One of the most important is the City Cultural Centre. There, different groups, workshops and language centres take place during the week. There is a variety of cultural activities in such areas as literature, crafts, choirs (for children and adults), theater and folklore. The Sport Secretary of the city is in charge of different sport events during the year. There are volleyball and football competitions, school Olympic games, car and motorbike races and holiday camps for children. There is also a variety of entertainment and nightlife including restaurants and dance clubs.

Sample Project

Teacher's Helper at the Brighton Institute

The purpose of the institution is:

• To give people the possibility of learning English by means of developing the 4 basic skills (reading-writing-listening-speaking).
• To provide students with the opportunity to practice and improve their English knowledge by participating in work, travel and exchange students programmes.
• To give students the chance of being in contact with a native speaker for them to feel they can use what they have learned in an authentic context.

The project would involve the volunteer in conversation classes, especially in the area of intercultural learning and exchange, and helping the teacher in organising class activities and projects. The volunteer should be a native English speaker or an advanced fluent speaker. Teaching experience is not necessary, but can be an asset. Available start dates from mid February to mid December, with a two week recess in June/July.