As part of RACI’s monthly visits to learn more about its members, this month we had the opportunity to virtually visit Fundación Cruzada Patagónica (Patagonian Crusade Foundation). For more than 40 years, this organization has been dedicated to ensuring equal opportunities in employment and education for rural populations in the western areas of Patagonia. As a fruit of its actions, in schools, in offices, or rural areas, Cruzada Patagónica contributes to the socio-economic development of the territories. This time, we asked one of our volunteers, Gabriel Alejandro Orozco, to give us his perspective on this experience.
As part of RACI’s intern and volunteer program, I had the opportunity to digitally immerse myself in the work of such a long-standing and impactful organization as Cruzada Patagónica. While under the current circumstances the visit was conducted remotely, I consider it an opportunity that allowed me to approach more deeply the team behind each project, program, and personal growth story.
The journey began with an overview of the history and current activities of Cruzada Patagónica by Paz Ramis, who not only develops international cooperation projects for the organization but is also part of the families that gave it institutional life. This instance allowed all those present to have a comprehensive perspective of the organization’s vision and its resilience in times of uncertainty through public-private partnerships. Then, the Institutional Communication Coordinator, María Victoria Belinche, and the General Administration Referent, Daniela Martínez, joined the conversation. In this second part of the tour, we learned in detail about the agrotechnical education, renewable energy, and entrepreneurship projects implemented by the Foundation, as well as its current challenges in terms of digital inclusion and the expansion of its activities in Río Negro.
I am grateful to RACI for organizing this visit and to Cruzada Patagónica to have opened its doors to all those who seek to enhance their territorial development efforts and pursue new horizons. I am convinced that all the work carried out so far and the one projected in the future within the framework of RACI will lay the foundations for each person to be able to realize their potential from their place of origin.
If you wish to know more about the work, publications, and ways of collaboration of the Patagonian Crusade Foundation, you can visit https://cruzadapatagonica.org/webfcp/.