About us > Argentina's Social Situation

Argentina's current social situation is the result of decades of structural problems that have not been completely solved or that have even increased. This is why in recent years the Third Sector has grown so much. The civil society understands that “assistentialism” is not enough and that it is necessary to recreate a system for social “inclusion”. The Argentine society today is more socially conscious and involved. Solidarity means “to give by giving oneself”. Being supportive is observing where one can work to restore the social fabric and common welfare.

Watching this critical social situation that leaves the most defenseless ones outside the system, the founder of Felices los Niños shaped this integral care model to attack a specific problem, that of homeless and street children at social risk. Over time, the model included young people, women, pregnant teenagers and teenage mothers who live and/or work in the street.

Below we present some social and economic indicators of Argentina in the understanding that those visiting our page will gain an insight of a sad reality that hits the most deprived ones - the people we are struggling for and for whom we request your cooperation - really hard.

Argentina's Social Situation

Street children in the City of Buenos Aires

According to the Center for Integral Care to Childhood and Adolescence of the Secretary of Social Development depending on the Government of the City of Buenos Aires (the capital city of Argentina), the number of homeless and street children increased by 50% in the last year.

Seventy-five percent of these children come from the Greater Buenos Aires suburbs and attend school sporadically, just the minimum number of days that are required by law. In fact, they are functional illiterates.

Distribution of homeless and street males and females in the City of Buenos Aires

Typical situations of a homeless and street child:

• Violence
• Teenage pregnancy
• Family disintegration
• Unemployment – Underemployment
• Lack of family containment
• Physical and/or psychological abuse

Child Labor

The official figures provided by the National Committee for Child Labor Elimination estimates that in Argentina 22% of minors between 6 and 14 years of age work, that is, 1,500,000 children.

The majority (1,232,800 children) are minors from developed areas.

Seventy-five percent are children aged 6 – 12 and 70% collect garbage; others clean cars or sell whatever they can. Forty percent drop out of school because they have to work.

Growing poverty, worsening adult employment – or just unemployment – are the main causes forcing families to send their children to work, violating their right to education.

Social Indicators

A detailed and updated analysis of Argentina's social and economic indicators can be found in the National Institute of Statistics website Instituto Nacional de Estadísticas y Censos - INDEC -.