January 2018
INGENIERÍA SIN FRONTERAS ARGENTINA
In January of 2018, 20 participants travelled to Argentina to work on humanitarian engineering projects in the youth sector.
Casa de Niños
Quilmes, Argentina
The Casa de Niños is a youth centre that operates in the Bernal Oeste neighbourhood of Quilmes. The centre provides meals, academic support and extracurricular activities for over 100 impoverished children.
ISF, in conjunction with several other organisations, are working on expanding the existing facilities to allow the centre to cater for more children, and a wider range of activities. In December 2017, a team of seven HEIP participants worked on the earthworks, utilities and foundations for the expansion project.
Comedor Polito
Cordoba, Argentina
The residents of Zepa B, a marginalised community on the outskirts of Cordoba, jointly operate the soup kitchen "Comedor Polito". In this space, dinners are provided to over 80 children of the district, and other days snacks are offered and school support and craft workshops are given. Elderly people who are unable to access the soup kitchen have food delivered to their homes.
There is an urgent need to improve the dining room facilities, and there are no toilets or drinking water for the activities that take place there. In addition, the activities are limited by climatic conditions. In extreme temperatures or on rainy days, the kitchen is closed since food preparation is currently carried out outdoors. The ISF project is working on expanding the existing infrastructure to include a commercial grade kitchen, toilet facilities and even a library. The January 2018 built on the progress made by the previous team, finishing off the foundations and starting on the superstructure.
CENTRO DE ATENCIÓN A LA NINEZ
Quilmes, Argentina
In some parts of Quilmes there are significant social issues caused by the lack of access to education and youth spaces for young children, who often take to roaming the streets. The child care centre “Nuestra Señora de la Esperanza” (Our Lady of Hope) provides the opportunity for youth to interact and grow in a positive environment. They provide academic support, mentoring, arts and music workshops, and healthcare, among other activities.
The existing centre was in a state of disrepair that threatening the operation of the facility.
The project involves involve the addition of new infrastructure, building of a multi-purpose room and remediation of existing facilities to allow the organisation to expand its activities and cater for more children.
The program participants worked on finishing the roof structure and internal finishings.