“Fundación Para Los Chicos Un Futuro Mejor” (Foundation For a Better Future for Kids) concluded its 2023 with numerous goals achieved and significant projects for the upcoming year. Here we share the current and future initiatives of this organization, which collaborates with the provision of quality education for hundreds of children.
From the start of their professional careers, German Muller and Susana Alvarez Vitale founded Aerodoc and Newtech Group, two companies where they combined professional development with a sense of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR).
Seventeen years ago, the request for an old desk as a donation marked the beginning of this story and their commitment to this wonderful endeavor. German asked the school’s principal, who would be the recipient of the old desk, to tell him about the needs and the situation of the Yacu Hurmana community in Santiago del Estero, Argentina.
Selva sent a letter to German, the founder and CEO at Aerodoc and the actual President of the organization, to explain the complex situation the local families were facing. It was then, in June 2007, that German and Susana visited Yacu Hurmana and its community in person. They were accompanied by their children and several volunteers, who began making initial building repairs, in addition to providing school supplies and food.
To ensure continuity and solidity over time, the foundation was established. By 2012, it was supporting five institutions. Field visits, active listening, and constant presence guided the project members, gradually building trust.
“The lack of water and electricity, and the difficulty for children to access education, dictated our path forward,” says Eduardo Travaglini, director of ‘Fundación Para Los Chicos Un Futuro Mejor’ who oversees the daily operational coordination of the foundation’s efforts.
He shares about the early days. “We started with school supplies and food. Then we added hygiene and cleaning items, and continued with pedagogical assistance to teachers to enhance their educational offerings, enabling students to learn better. With the School Support Center, we made a fundamental qualitative and quantitative leap in these children’s learning,” explains Travaglini.
“Over time, they also began supporting the health sector, transporting specialist doctors from Buenos Aires to Santiago del Estero to provide care and supplying various health centers with medical supplies and medications. The dream of Germán and Susana to assist those in need led to the foundation’s creation. We’ve taken steps to promote comprehensive development and quality education for our little girls and boys (affectionately called ‘chinitas’ and ‘changuitos’ there) in the interior of Santiago. The Muller family is the heart of all we do, and that affection reaches people’s hearts every time we visit,” explains Travaglini.
2023, a year of planting new seeds
Currently, the foundation’s 14 team members work on four main pillars: schools, school support centers, health, and families. 2023 was a significant year for strengthening ongoing projects and launching new challenges.
In terms of education and nutrition, throughout 2023, the foundation continued supporting 11 schools in Santiago del Estero with monthly provisions of food, school supplies, educational materials, and hygiene and cleaning products, benefiting around 1,100 recipients.
Toward the year’s end, the foundation added the 12th institution. Additionally, the School Support Center (and its three branches: La Cañada, Colonia El Simbolar, and Suncho Corral) provided tutoring, snacks, and resources to nearly 750 children.
Regarding health support, in 2023, the organization assisted seven hospitals and primary care facilities across the province with medications, benefiting 2,700 people.
They also provided monthly support to 15 vulnerable families with food and hygiene products, benefiting around 120 individuals. In total, the foundation’s beneficiaries in 2023 numbered 4,760.
Connectivity in rural areas is a cornerstone
In 2022, connectivity issues highlighted a critical area for enabling students to have continuous, uninterrupted classes. Since then, the foundation has progressed in developing connections to facilitate students’ learning and allow teachers to be virtually closer to their pupils.
In 2023, they advanced with the project to install a tower and set up an internet signal-generating antenna for La Cañada. On rural connectivity, Eduardo Travaglini explains, “This will be the first in a series of installations, totaling four towers, to extend the network to Villa Figueroa, where several schools we support and our School Support Centers operate. Our goal is for children to learn more, broadening their horizons, and for the community to develop economically.”
A 2024 to collaborate with new communities
2023 and 2024 are marked by new horizons. “Our activities are centered in Santiago del Estero, and since late last year, we began replicating our experience in Cholila, Chubut. We’re thrilled to be expanding our foundation’s efforts nationwide,” comments the institution’s director.
Since November 2023, the foundation started assisting School No. 121 in Cholila with educational materials, school supplies, food, and hygiene products. They also contributed paint and tools for renovating and maintaining the buildings, and during the summer of 2024, they provided gymnastics equipment required for their classes. Moreover, the foundation’s teachers are set to start teaching at a new School Support Center in this town.
Regarding future projects, the foundation is adopting user-friendly platforms to enable individuals and companies to make online donations easily. “We’re planning and developing new initiatives. For instance, producing protein blocks to enhance the nutrition of the population and support the academic development of students.
This is one of the projects we aim to realize this year. We need more people to support the educational communities we work with; there are various ways to collaborate, and we’re open to forming new partnerships and collaborations,” concludes Eduardo.
In a year when poverty rates have soared, the needs of children from the most vulnerable sectors have also increased. In this context, organizations like ‘For a Better Future for Kids’ are working to define action strategies and assist those in critical situations.
If you want to learn more about the Foundation, you can follow all of the work that goes on behind the scenes through their official Instagram or their website.
