Back in the classroom and bolstered by new projects, the foundation supported by Aerodoc will close out 2022 with several achievements and greatly expanded initiatives. Learn more about their aspirations for next year and their message to society.
It was finally time to come together, not just in a physical classroom, but also through the values upheld by Fundación Para Los Chicos Un Futuro Mejor, a foundation with a robust array of social work supported by Aerodoc in Santiago del Estero, a province in northern Argentina. The foundation presented a report on its work and contributions to education and healthcare in 2022.
Far from what many may consider ‘normal’, the life of Chinitas and Changuitos (local slang for girls and boys) is hampered by scarcity. Education, nutrition, and healthcare are three wobbling pillars of life supported by the foundation through several initiatives. And in 2022, it strengthened existing projects and launched new ones.
This year, Fundación Para Los Chicos Un Futuro Mejor continued supporting and funding 13 local schools, and the return to in-person learning proved essential: “We managed to reconnect physically with the educational communities we help. Our Tutoring Center was reinforced through the expansion of three annexes that now serve 200 low-income students who lack educational resources with tutoring sessions. We also created job opportunities for six local teachers,” explains Edu Travaglini, the foundation’s director.
Regarding healthcare, Fundación Para Los Chicos Un Futuro Mejor reached four new hospitals and primary care clinics for a total of seven that receive drug donations through the foundation. It also managed to provide food and hygiene items to families in Suncho Corral and Yacu Hurmana. Moreover, they broke ground on a lot in La Cañada to build a tower with an Internet antenna.
These are not isolated efforts, but parts of a holistic plan to draw attention to the foundation’s work: “This year, we rose our profile on social media, which allowed us to raise funds, clothes, shoes, a cradle, drugs, and books from people from Buenos Aires and other provinces, and we are very grateful to them for that,” say officials from Fundación Para Los Chicos Un Futuro Mejor, founded 16 years ago by Aerodoc president Germán Muller and his family.
Greatest Hits of 2022
Aware of the need to stay close to the children to ensure their advancement, the team at Fundación Para Los Chicos Un Futuro Mejor covered many times the distance between Santiago del Estero’s rural villages and poor urban neighborhoods.
That presence allowed the team to conduct bimonthly visits to the 13 schools supported by the foundation in rural and urban areas and integrate a group of former students of República de México school, which closed its doors.
The foundation reinforced its support in delivering food items to improve nutrition at the schools’ cafeterias, supplies, learning materials, and hygiene and sanitization items to more than 1,200 members of educational communities from Figueroa, Juan Felipe Ibarra, Salavina, and Banda departments.
Given the English language’s importance for communication with foreign countries, the foundation also facilitated virtual English classes in the first half of the year. However, despite their goodwill, connectivity issues among students forced Fundación Para Los Chicos Un Futuro Mejor to shelve that project. “Therefore, our goals for 2023 include ensuring connectivity for students to resume virtual tutoring by building an antenna and boosters in strategic locations in rural Santiago del Estero”, says Travaglini with a tinge of hopefulness.
In line with these efforts to provide decent education and foster equal opportunities, Fundación Para Los Chicos Un Futuro Mejor also commemorated the first anniversary of its Tutoring Center, which began with 30 Chinitas and Changuitos and will end the year with 200 in three annexes located in Colonia Simbolar, Suncho Corral, and La Cañada. Each annex was supported year-round with meals, learning materials, and supplies, among other things.
The numbers show the achievements: 80% of students can now read with excellent comprehension and all of them improved their grades, earning congratulations from teachers and families. They also honed their problem-solving and math skills.
The foundation’s work was not limited to education; this year it also made a mark on healthcare and nutrition by organizing drug and clothing donations to seven healthcare centers, benefiting 1,200 people. The drugs are received in Buenos Aires and then sent to Santiago del Estero, where they are delivered to the foundation’s director and distributed with support from a team of coordinators.
Moreover, they also deliver food, hygiene, cleaning, and sanitation items regularly for 75 families – 130 adults and 320 minors – from low-income urban areas in Suncho Corral and Yacu Hurmana.
Sneakers – The Children’s Dream
Many Chinitas and Changuitos must walk several miles every day on dirt roads to get to school. By year’s end, their shoes are worn out from walking such great distances.
Aiming to motivate them to continue their education, Fundación Para Los Chicos Un Futuro Mejor launched a campaign to reward children and teenagers who complete the school year in 2022 and encourage them to follow their dreams and increase their chances of getting an education.
“For them, a pair of sneakers symbolizes all the things they cannot buy; they also need that to go to school,” says Travaglini, adding that the initiative was inspired by Germán Muller and its family, who would reward students to motivate them to continue their education, as many of them were tempted to drop out of school to help their low-income families put food on the table.
To wrap things up, Travaglini has a message about this year and 2023: Fundación Para Los Chicos Un Futuro Mejor will be there for those who need it most with love and devotion.
“Our team’s members believe and hope that there are kindhearted people who will help us continue our work, so every day more and more children get the food they need and a decent education that provides them with bigger opportunities to achieve a brighter future.”
