Day 75 - Buenos Aires

Field trip!  My entrepreneurship class visited a couple NGOs supported by HelpArgentina, an “NGO accelerator.”  Our first stop was Los Naranjos.  Here, a woman took kids off the street at 18, when the children’s homes would kick them out with no skills, and taught them how to make pottery.  The pottery was not as important as simply giving the kids structure and instilling a work ethic.  Getting them to show up for four hours of work per day and staying off drugs was the major accomplishment.  The business was very successful, and they could not keep up with demand.

Our next stop was Andar, which began as a soccer program for disabled people.  The program has greatly expanded, and has extensive facilities.  The main business now is catering (they catered our lunch), which started as a bakery with one archaic mud oven.  They offer sports many different sports, as well as programs for development of art, culture, recycling, and sustainability.

I was especially sad to leave Buenos Aires this evening.  We left during a beautiful sunset over the city, and no photos could capture all the colors.  As soon as the sun disappeared, the mosquitos arrived.  Shortly thereafter, huge dragonflies appeared to eat the mosquitos.  They hung around the lights and doorways, blocking the entrance inside.  I finally gathered my courage and used a large guy nearby as a shield to enter.  They were everywhere!  I ran through the entire dragonfly-infested dining room to safety, and avoided the back half of the ship for the rest of the night.