One of the many projects our volunteers work with in Buenos Aires area is Travesuras Kindergarten in the neighborhood of Suárez. Like most kindergartens, Travesuras is a place for children ages 2 to 5 to come, play, and receive a pre-school education, nutritional meals, and adult supervision while their parents are working. Unfortunately though, such places are few and far between in poorer neighborhoods like Suárez. Many children this age end up spending their days running the streets or cooped up in their homes with their other brothers and sisters.
Late last year though, two former volunteers, upon returning to their home in Germany, decided to hold a marathon fundraiser in hopes of further improving the kindergarten. In total, the two girls raised an incredible 19,058.00 euros, enough to construct two new classrooms, enlarge the kitchen and other existing areas, and build a small patio. The new construction, which began on Jan. 3, is set to be completed before the students return in March. With men working six days a week, it seems quite likely that they will reach that goal.
Once the new construction is complete, the kindergarten will be able to accommodate 60 students in all, giving more than 20 additional children the opportunity to attend. For the women who run Travesuras, Lorena and Viviana, this news is both exciting and daunting.
The whole purpose of the kindergarten is to provide care and early education to more and more children in the community, and with this donation, they will be able to do just that. But Travesuras runs on very limited funds. Most of their money comes from donations, as most of the children's families cannot afford to pay. Just covering the costs of food and staff is a struggle. The two women fear that, with twenty more mouths to feed and children to teach and care for, it will be even more difficult to sustain things.
In the coming months, we at Voluntario Global will be closely following the new construction in Travesuras. With the assistance of our worldwide base of volunteers and generous donations, we hope to help them overcome these obstacles and build a better, brighter future for their community.