During the first week of March 2008, 11 Springbreakers from the University of Virginia, USA, descended on Buenos Aires and HelpArgentina to work with a member organization, Sagrada Familia (Sacred Family), to build "two new additions" to the small homes of two distinct families' in the greater Buenos Aires region.
Arriving in Argentina on a Friday, these eager college students participated in an orientation with HelpArgentina before heading the following Monday to begin work in a small, rural, and very low income neighborhood in Tigre, a community that attracts many tourists for its proximity to a delta of the river Parana.
The project was slow at the start, but as the week progressed, the students and a routine developed they got to know the community and the families whose homes they were renovating. I visited the group on their last day. To say the least it was a very inspiring day.
Arriving after about an hour and a half of commute, I reached the volunteers who were working laboriously on the two different projects. One of the projects was to build the basic structure of a separate "one room" home on the property of a big family of at least 8. By the end of the day, the skeleton of the home was completed, the floor boards were laid, and the roof and walls were constructed. (The final product was to be completed by Horacio Fish, the on-site leader and carpenter from Sagrada Familia).
The other project was an addition to the home of a single mom and her two young children. The group finished the general structure and laid the the floor boards as well as the sun went down that Friday afternoon. This addition would be a new kitchen for the family, a well-needed expansion to her humble home.
To finish reading, go to Volunteer Life in Argentina.
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