2008 Argentina BRPID Project

Federación Argentina de Mujeres Universitarias (FAMU)

Rosario, a town of more than one million inhabitants, 400 km west of Buenos Aires, is estimated to have around 420 children living in poverty in make-shift dwellings, on the streets and in back alleys. These children are exposed to the very real dangers of prostitution, drugs, disease and crime and have no access to health care or education.

The aim of this project was to train a team of FAMU volunteers to work effectively on the street to help to improve the lives of these young people, particularly the young girls. During the months of June and July 2008, between 15 and 18 members of the Rosario Chapter of FAMU took part in an intensive practical training programme run by professionals with experience in social work, health care, judiciary and legislative matters. All the professionals gave their support and time to this programme free of charge. Workshops covered a variety of subjects including, the legal complexities surrounding the treatment of minors, the transmission of disease, and education through play.

One of the most positive results of this training course is, that with their newly acquired skills, members of the Rosario Chapter of FAMU have become a new force actively involved with the street children. They now work with existing groups, governmental and private, in the effort to try and remove young girls from the streets of Rosario. FAMU members have been invited to join the Rosario Citizenship Dialogue Table, an organisation of NGOs and individuals with experience in social work, who advise and produce programmes on safeguarding minors, environmental conservation and employment safeguards at local, state and national level. This is a non-political organisation, and the hope is that all actions and efforts will be long term and will not influenced by changes in administration, or political ideology.