Aldeas Infantiles is an international non-governmental and non-profit organization founded in 1849 by the Austrian Hermann Gmeiner, whose mission is focused on providing protection and care to children separated from their families. For 40 years, Aldeas Infantiles has been based in our country, working to ensure the development of children, teenagers and young people in protective family environments so that they have the space to exercise their rights.
Currently, Aldeas Infantiles is active in four provinces of our country: Misiones, Córdoba, Santa Fe, and Buenos Aires City and province. In each region, different action programs are currently in progress.
Their programs:
ALTERNATIVE CARE, currently in action in the cities of Mar del Plata, Luján, Córdoba and Oberá. Under this program, the NGO receives children and teenagers deprived of family care as a result of the decisions of higher authority enforcement. Children are received in safe family environments, without separating siblings. They live in a house composed of 6 or 7 children and an SOS Caregiver, accompanied by a specialized team.
FAMILY STRENGTHENING AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT, active in the cities of Oberá, Lujan, Mar del Plata and Rosario. It aims to help children at risk of losing family care, with a focus on prevention: strengthening the care capabilities of families so that the relationships they develop with the children are affectionate and respectful of the children’s rights.
TEENS AND YOUNG PEOPLE, aims to progressively accompany participants of the Alternative Care Program in their transition to adult life and in the construction of their autonomy: their personal projects, employment training, and the completion of their upper and/or university studies.
FAMILY REINTEGRATION AND ADOPTION, the program works with the participants of the Alternative Care Program who are going to be reintegrated with their biological families, or who are in the process of adoption. We accompany them in the processes of bonding and we strengthen the care capabilities of the families that will receive them.
CAPACITY DEVELOPMENT, through this program, technical teams, adult caregivers, and other right guarantors are trained to promote the direct care and support of children and families from an approach that incorporates the exercise of their rights.
EDUCATIONAL CENTERS, aims to break the cycle of marginalization, poverty, violence and family disintegration through the use of education, so that children are able to acquire the ability to lead a dignified life and become active members of society.
PUBLIC INCIDENCE, the mission of this program is the promotion of political, social, economic and cultural changes that improve the lives of children, allowing them to exercise their rights in a manner that can be sustained in the long term.
HERMANN GMEINER SCHOOL, founded in 1987 in the city of Oberá, provides quality education to more than 900 students, from an initial level to professional and academic training.
If you want to know more about Aldeas Infantiles, you can visit their website or write to info@aldeasinfantiles.org.ar