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Read the 5/27/2007 editorial: The Holy Spirit rejuvenates us. S.O.S. URGENT AID CLICK HERE TO HELP Don Bosco Chapel at Chacarita 28% of children up to 2 years old are malnourished in the Province of Buenos Aires 1,200,000 children are starving in Argentina A prayer for the Malvinas Islands 1982 - 2007 Institutional Project (2007 Update) Undernourishment at 10 minutes off the Buenos Aires City Large donation made to Felices los Niños by crew of Infinity Cruise Ship 13-year-old girl died from malnutrition in Corrientes Children's motto 2006 by Fr. Julio Grassi 60% of the children in the Province of Buenos Aires are poor or distressed Argentine Chaco: 66% of children suffer of anemia Cardinal Bergoglio demanded an answer for childhood Every three seconds a poor child dies somewhere in the world Infant died of malnutrition on its way to the hospital "Good Nights" Don Bosco style 1,500,000 Argentine children at work Warning Sounded on the Plight of Street Children An ever increasing number of undernourished children at time of birth (Source Agencia APE). The Bishop of Añatuya visited our Home in Suncho Corral: More details. Work done by the kids of Boccardo Home: Click here to see it. Spread the word: Send a card.

Thousands of Children Need Our Help

Cold official data on the Argentine reality show a two-fold increase during the past two years in the number of kids and teenagers who spend the day begging, working or wasting their golden years of childhood in the street instead of studying, playing with friends at home or practicing sports. One half of the Argentine population is poor... and there they are, "the poorest among the poor": the children.

The problem of these kids is manifold: they grow up too soon towards a kind of maturity they are not yet ready to live, they compromise their future because they are potentially illiterate, they will not study or will drop out of school, they will be undernourished and have their physical and emotional development reduced or impaired, they will starve and beg in the streets under the indifference of others and they will be chronically unemployed. These children are not aware of the fact that they have less possibilities and no opportunities, and that their rights are encroached.

It is discouraging to see that the deep crisis affecting our country has also wiped out the chances for family containment. Before, only one family member could be seen wandering the streets; now families have two or three members doing so; usually adults are unemployed or underemployed. Domestic violence and drug abuse have crept into the weakened homes and grabbed the most unprotected ones: the children.

At Felices los Niños Foundation, we have seen the number of assisted people to grow almost endlessly. It has been very difficult to cope with so alarming a reality, so complex in the numbers and in the documents, so misunderstood. Babies, children, youngsters, pregnant teenagers and teenage mothers who come to Felices los Niños Foundation homes and schools get food, education, health care, housing and spiritual formation. All we have done and do is a lot, but not enough.

And now what?

Thank God we know we are not alone. The easy way would be to state the problem and remain impassive. But this would make us part of the group of indifferent or absent-minded people. In such a context, it is impossible to think that governments and institutions will take charge of everything and solve things. It is time to analyze what each of us - within our possibilities, from our places - can do to help.

Structural problems cannot be solved individually, but something has started to change. People have started to change. Let's make the change ourselves, let's cross the line, let's not wait for others to bring the solutions.

Bricks turned into homes, classrooms, dining halls, health care centers, workshops, gyms, computer rooms, vegetable gardens and recreational spaces are the eloquent proof of what has been done but also of what still remains to be done. Pressed by urgent needs we have expanded throughout the country. We are much more than a dining room, a home, a school, a workshop… we are a community.

Help us to continue our Work for love of the children. God loves children! Let’s pray for Him to give us the necessary Faith, Hope and Love to make every rescued child a person of dignity.

Father Julio Cesar Grassi
Founder

Comprehensive schooling and assistance project for children and teenagers at risk: "Don Bosco Home-School-Farm-Workshop" This is the Foundation way, renewed by the new Argentine Childhood and Adolescence Law. It operates in the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, and in the Provinces of Buenos Aires, Chaco, Santiago del Estero, San Juan and Formosa. Hogar: 9 Treatment Units for Children and Teenagers. 14 Day Care Centers: relief centers in very poor districts which avoid the children from being on the street and help them with remedial teaching, workshops and feeding. Schools: 9 educational centers for children, teenagers, youths and poor adults, with full-day schooling and feeding. Educational Farm: at elementary and secondary school levels. This is a therapeutic tool used by treatment units of children and teenagers at risk. Workshops: For women at risk so they cease from being exploited and can regain their self esteem and the full range of their rights. Workshops for teenagers at risk: computing, sewing, farming, plant nursing, beekeeping, maintenance, bakery and cooking.