The Berkana Institute

Organization Objectives

La Casita works to empower the economically marginalized families in Gorina by providing free childcare, educational activities, and micro-enterprise support. Its goals are to:

• Provide social and educational development opportunities for children and adolescents
• Offer daily nutritional meals for children
• Teach continuing educational subjects, such as English and computer science, to community members
• Develop capacity-building workshops for vocational education, including bread-making and computer training
• Support micro-enterprise initiatives for the parents of children at La Casita

 

Program Information

 

1.Child Development and Education

The goal of La Casita’s Child Development Program is to engage children in constructive activities that motivate them to stay in school. Currently, La Casita has only one activity for adolescents. Every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, from March to mid-December, a teacher leads a class in computation for local youth. The government subsidizes the teacher’s salary, and the course curriculum is government-sanctioned. This program is two years long, and upon successful completion, each student receives a government-accredited diploma to certify his/her proficiency in computer skills.The computer class is popular among Gorina’s youth; however, aside from this course, La Casita’s Child Development Program is at a standstill. Consequently, most of the children only come to the center for a daily meal and then leave. Many of these children spend their days in the streets and/or at home, unsupervised. When more activities are available, La Casita fills up with local children. The Center would like to obtain the resources necessary to create more sustainable programs for local youth.

 

Opportunities

• Develop an athletic education program based on the interests of local youth
• Aid in the development and implementation of workshops that provide extracurricular education for children and adolescents. Topics include, but are not limited to:
  • Computers
  • Art
  • Writing
  • Literature
  • Physical education
  • Dance
  • Drama
  • English
• Assist in the development and implementation of workshops that promote social development for children and adolescents. Possible workshop themes include communication skills, group work, leadership development, and life skills.
• Provide homework help for children and adolescents
• Research funding opportunities to provide more sustained financial support for La Casita’s programs

 

Requirements

• Intermediate to Advanced Spanish
• Background in teaching, child psychology, and/or related fields
• Ability to work with children from disadvantaged backgrounds
• Must be creative and be able to take initiative
• Capacity to analyze social and psychological situations without prejudice

 

2.     Community Development

La Casita’s Community Development Program reaches out to local families by providing education and capacity-building workshops, and supporting micro-enterprise development. The goal of this program is to allow local parents to advance their education and vocational skills so they can obtain skilled jobs and/or create micro-enterprises. With a more stable income, parents can provide more opportunities for their children, as well as an overall higher quality of living for themselves and their families.

 

Opportunities

• Conduct a thorough needs assessment of the community and determine which workshops community members would like to see implemented in their neighborhood
• Carry out workshops on business management, marketing, budgeting and/or related topics
• Assist local parents in forming a bakery or pizzería based out of La Casita
• Assess the possibility of starting a sewing cooperative or another type of small business initiative at La Casita
• Research micro-credit opportunities available for micro-enterprises
• Develop and deliver health workshops to the local community
• Assist with computation courses for the parents of children who attend La Casita

 

Requirements

• Intermediate to Advanced Spanish
• Experience in marketing, fundraising, microfinance, micro-enterprises, teaching, business development, health, nutrition, and/or related fields
• An understanding of the issues that affect populations of marginalized zones
• Ability to work with people from marginalized zones without prejudice
• Ability to work independently and willingness to take initiative
• Strong interpersonal communication and organizational skills
• Creative and detail-oriented

 

3.Infrastructure Development

Several infrastructural improvements are needed at La Casita. The organization would like assistance in raising money and leading projects to improve the safety, sanitation, and atmosphere of the day center. Ideally, the participant would be involved in fundraising to pay for the salaries of local community members who could take part in these projects. In this way, La Casita can improve its connections with the people it serves by providing income to local families while forming a stronger sense of community unity.

 

Opportunities

• Write grants to potential donors and contributors
• Provide leadership for infrastructure projects
• Fundraise for La Casita to raise money to:
  • Build a secure storage shed so that the center can keep its equipment safe
  • Build a playground for the children of La Casita
  • Construct a bathroom
  • Improve the plumbing system at La Casita

 

Requirements

• Intermediate to Advanced Spanish
• Experience in fundraising, grantwriting, construction, plumbing, and/or related fields
• An understanding of the issues that affect populations of marginalized zones
• Ability to work independently and in groups
• Strong interpersonal communication skills
• High level of personal initiative

 

Program Supervisor (All Programs)

Cristina Flores is Coordinator of La Casita, and has over 12 years of experience in social work and community development.

 

Note: Responsibilities offered to each participant will be proportionate to their level of experience. Participants who are new to development work may predominantly support and assist current project agendas, while those with much applicable experience may be able to assume greater responsibility. Research projects are strongly encouraged by this organization to support each program’s objective because minimal resources are currently allocated for research.

 

Working Conditions

La Casita is located in Gorina in a semi-rural neighborhood on the outskirts of La Plata. The commute to work varies between 30 to 45 minutes by bus. The majority of the work will be done at the La Casita center. It has a very warm and welcoming environment. La Casita operates in a single-story building that has three main rooms including a dining room/classroom, computer room, and kitchen.

 

Organizational Background

A group of women from the community of Gorina opened La Casita in 1998 to feed, educate, and provide general support for at-risk local youth. Initially, the center was run from the house of one its founding members. In 2000, the construction of a more comprehensive community center began. In 2002, the center was finished, and La Casita still operates here. Over the years the women of La Casita have fought numerous battles to gather enough material and financial support to construct the building, obtain adequate government funds to feed the children of La Casita, earn additional subsidies to start the computer classes (since 1998), open a lab with six computers (in 2004), and, most recently, rebound from the devastating blow that occurred when the computers were stolen. On each occasion the staff members have shown a great degree of perseverance and their firm commitment to the community that needs them so badly.

 

Past FSD participants have worked on several different projects.One intern received a grant to purchase an industrial bread-making machine. This money provided La Casita with the proper equipment to teach government-certified baking courses. Students in the course gained new job skills and certification, and the output of baked goods supplied La Casita with bread. Several of these students have since found work with local panaderías. Even though the government ended its support of these courses, La Casita still owns the bread-making machine. The center would like to organize and assist local parents in building a successful bakery or pizzería.

 

Another intern won an FSD grant to purchase an extra computer for La Casita. The addition of this computer has proven to be an important step in increasing La Casita’s ability to provide quality education and capacity-building opportunities.

 

About La Casita’s Clients

In Argentina, towns such as Gorina are known as “villas miserias.” Villas miserias tend to be located on the outskirts of larger urban centers. Most notably, they are characterized by two distinct populations—the wealthy and the desperately poor who live together in very close proximity. In Gorina, a town of only 6,000 people, there are three relatively large private communities. Surrounding these walled communities are houses made of cardboard, driftwood, and whatever other materials can be scavenged from the surrounding environment. La Casita serves the vulnerable population in Gorina, which are those living outside the gated walls.