When my wife and I decided to move to Argentina in 2004, part of our mission statement included making a difference in the local community. We both will always remember how lucky we were to be born in the United States into middle class families.
I figured this might be a great place to share stories and hopefully combine forces "para hacer una diferencia"
Many of our friends back home in Lake Tahoe are sponsored athletes. One of our proudest programs has been to have them ship their used and/or not being used winter clothing, that we in turn have been giving out to the local community. We have hit sort of a roadblock, because we were using a friend's APO address to bypass customs. He has since been reassigned out of Bariloche, so we need to find another angle.
We made and posted metal signs at all the area trail heads reminding people to pick up their trash. The idea is to start a "give a hoot, don't pollute" type program here. We believe that littering and lack of respect for the environment needs to be educated in the schools to really make a positive impact. The signs have made a small change, but we are still picking up trash on almost every hike.
We have been teaching free English and computer lessons. This has been especially rewarding since we both believe the key is to give people tools (empowerment) to succeed.
Here is Shanie and Fabian, a real kind soul with good pronunciation.
Lastly, we are in the early stages of getting involved with an Argentine foundation that provides housing and schooling for less fortunate students here in Patagonia. They have two schools already, and hoping to create a third in the future.
It is only in the infancy stages, but there is talk of a benefit spring music festival in Patagonia. More on that later!
How about other expats? What are you doing? How can we work together to help?
I figured this might be a great place to share stories and hopefully combine forces "para hacer una diferencia"
Many of our friends back home in Lake Tahoe are sponsored athletes. One of our proudest programs has been to have them ship their used and/or not being used winter clothing, that we in turn have been giving out to the local community. We have hit sort of a roadblock, because we were using a friend's APO address to bypass customs. He has since been reassigned out of Bariloche, so we need to find another angle.
We made and posted metal signs at all the area trail heads reminding people to pick up their trash. The idea is to start a "give a hoot, don't pollute" type program here. We believe that littering and lack of respect for the environment needs to be educated in the schools to really make a positive impact. The signs have made a small change, but we are still picking up trash on almost every hike.
We have been teaching free English and computer lessons. This has been especially rewarding since we both believe the key is to give people tools (empowerment) to succeed.
Here is Shanie and Fabian, a real kind soul with good pronunciation.
It is only in the infancy stages, but there is talk of a benefit spring music festival in Patagonia. More on that later!
How about other expats? What are you doing? How can we work together to help?
