Three Women, Seventy Children, and Lots of Hairless Terriers: Working with Mi Perrito, by Christine Solitario

For almost seven weeks, I have had the privilege of spending every day with the women of Mi Perrito Cooperative in Villa Elisa, Argentina. Through my internship, I have had the ability to see the trials and tribulations that face start up business in impoverished communities. I have also witnessed the power of community support [...]

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The Comedor and the Panadería, by Jacquelyn Koehler

Once on of the ten richest countries in the world, recurring political corruption and an economic crisis in 2001 has greatly impacted the economic stability of the country.
The Argentine “comedor” is a mixture of a soup kitchen and community forum depending on the location. Generally comedor’s provide one daily meal for people living in [...]

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When Health Politics Fail, by Lillian Perez

On the first day of my internship with CEPAC, my supervisor, Dr. Saúl Yustón Demarchi, took me to a barrio called Tolosa, which is located about half an hour from the center of La Plata, to show me how the organization addresses health needs in marginalized communities and to explain a concept I have been [...]

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Las Mentes Bien Preparadas, by Kelly Mannion

“Promocionar y desarrollar integralmente al hombre, generando igualdad de accesos y oportunidades.” This is the central mission of Fundación Pro Humanae Vitae, a group of dedicated volunteers tied together by overpowering belief in the equal development of the human person in every sense of the word – economic, social, cultural, political, moral. Founded by Sra. [...]

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Bridging the Digital Gap, by Lynda Blancato

Living in the United States we are constantly wired—communicating with our friends via instant messenger, using the wealth of information that Wikipedia provides to research some unknown person, event, or place, or even reading articles from newspapers and magazines across the globe—all tools readily available with basic internet. Technology plays such an important role in [...]

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An Entrepreneur Network, by Jennifer Drapisch

Over the past 6 months I have worked with Centro de Entrenamiento para la Producción (CEP). They are an NGO established to assist small and medium sized businesses (PYMES) through technological development and business training. The Argentine government recently created subsidies and tax credits aimed at increasing the competitiveness of Argentine PYMES. CEP [...]

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Infrastucture Development in Villa Elisa, Argentina

FSD intern Elliot Watson is working with his community to improve the Arco Iris community center in Villa Elisa, Argentina, which provides meals to children, houses sewing and baking cooperatives for adults, and provides microenterprise services. The community was recently damanged by a flash flood and received little government aid, and the community center itself often falls prey to vandalism and theft and gets decorated by drug paraphernalia overnight. Elliot and his field director, Anna DeLessio-Parson, are initiating a project along with the community and a local architect to build a fence around the community center for security and protection so that it may create a garden with fresh produce and construct a play structure for the children and protect the baking and sewing equipment. The team is close to raising the funds needed to start the first phase of the project.

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“A Traves de Nuestros Ojos” (“Through Our Eyes”)

“Over the past 7 weeks I have seen first-hand not only the fear of discrimination for a positive HIV status, but also the reality of this fear. It’s everywhere. I see it in the patients’ eyes when they describe that they have recently been fired simply because their boss suspected that there was infection nearby…sometimes [...]

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