CHILDREN PROGRAM
El campito, affection and perseverance for the kids

Six years ago El Campito was born. By that time different recreational activities were made with the children, and Ana and Berni began to invite them to their house to spend Sundays with games and a familiar atmosphere. With time, the number of ten children went to two hundred until three years ago, when the possibility of gathering in the place where EnAcción develops sport and cultural activities arose. Today, one hundred fifty children gather to play and eat something to the heat of couples and collaborators.

In 2003, Mónica and Víctor –who live a block from the place and whose children attend El Campito– joined the work. "The idea was that there was a couple who shows the boys both the maternal and paternal images", says Mónica, who is as well a graduate of the New Women program (see following article). "My husband is in charge of cooking the hamburgers for all, and I am in charge of the smallest children", she adds.

Once a month, collaborators meet to plan the activities, and Silvina, coordinator of the Children Program, contributes with material to stimulate not only physical development but also intellectual one. The oldest children, from the ages of 10 to 12 are inclined for sport: boys prefer soccer and girls like volley. The smallest kids have plastic activities such as drawings with crayons, working with playdough and graphic activities like connecting numbers through lines to form a figure or to find the differences between two drawings.

People in charge try to be always aware of children’s situation, deriving children with complex situations to specialists. Since a case of domestic violence and malnutrition has recently been detected, Social Workers from the Families Program visited the house, they included the family into the Social Promotion Service, and the Nutrition Service made a nutritional evaluation of the kids.

“There are absent mothers, adolescent pregnancies, and complex problematics", says Mónica, and adds: "At the beginning, children were more aggressive, but with affection and perseverance you can tell the change, the kids help us and speak with us”.

FAMILIES PROGRAM
Self-esteeme and iniciatives through New Women

Within the Training Service of the Families Program function the New Women groups, reflection spaces which try to strengthen people’s self esteem, confidence and social integration.

In 2002 these groups started with an international methodology that was adapted to the local situation. Courses last three years and its objective is that women value themselves, transform their families and open themselves to others.

These courses consist of varied activities: painting, cooking, knitting, workshops and talks, all accompanied with spiritual reflection and personal experience sharing. Moreover, the group mates become a reference that go along with each personal process, stimulating initiatives and creating new friendships.

There are four groups working at the moment: first year, third year, Graduates and Young Mothers sum up fifty women. Young Mothers group has the peculiarity of debating issues like maternity, children care, hygiene, and children’s feeding and raising. On the other hand, the Graduates group started meeting as a response to the direct demand of the graduates themselves, who wanted to maintain the space of reflection. Their enthusiasm now is open to other projects and activities, with which they collaborate.

The group Coordinators also attend training courses with the aims of acquiring further tools for their work and adapting the methodology used in other similar groups around the world. For that reason, a Regional Meeting of New Women was held in June with the attendance of one hundred and fifty women who exchanged experiences and shared their enthusiasm.