Buenos Aires Pt II: The work bit (Soundtrack:Tango in the streets)

After a few days we got involved with an organisation that works with children living in 'Las Villas' ; the poor neighbourhoods aka slums which circle the city and spread into the smog hazed distance. L.I.F.E. (Lunchamos para una infancia feliz y con esperanza) which translates to ' We strive for a childhood with happiness and hope' http://www.lifeargentina.org/ are doing just that - attempting to give children living in these communities a bit of space in which to play, imagine and be creative, to give them a chance to have a childhood, a phase in life which can be drastically reduced when living in these conditons. It was certainly an eye-opener to see the parts of Buenos Aires that few tourists get a chance to glimpse. The impossible number of tiny shacks appear to hold each other up, in the dusty streets lay huge piles of rubbish - mini landfills where stray pregnant dogs rummage for scraps, and nearby children play games or harrass the dogs. Old beat-up cars and trucks trundle past, "cumbia villera", the genre of music that has emerged from the slums in recent years, blaring from the windows.



Once our mini pulled up, we'd be met by a group of beaming, cheering kids all overjoyed that the LIFE crew were back. After a bit of pushing and shoving to secure a shoulder ride or piggy back, we'd go to one of the small public spaces allocated for the sessions, sometimes just the living room (for living room read bare concrete room, with a few pictures on the walls to liven up the dominant grey, and maybe a CD player in the corner) of somebodys house in the community. The idea is, we help them out with their homework, help them to learn some english, play games and give them something positive to focus on.



Most of the kids were so cute and affectionate, despite living in such tough conditions. Others I found to be more of a challenge, sometimes the older boys could be a bit unpredictable, and at times aggressive, but its to be expected - these kids are tough. In this world so alien to my own childhood, they have to be. Generally though, once they'd accepted you, they'd get stuck into the activities, often with suprising results. I found that doing a little 'beat-box' workshop tends to get even the most non-chalent of the older lads interested. I introduced the tetrapack wallet activity which I do regularly with kids in the UK, and as always it went down a treat.

Many of the kids we worked with were HIV positive. It's tragic to think that already some of them are destined to a shortened life, even before facing the multiple challenges of a life of poverty. A recent phenomenom has been the spread of 'Paco' a cheap, cocaine residue which is now ubiquitos in the slums, and sadly, is used by many young teens. Paco is even more toxic than crack cocaine because it's made mostly of solvents and chemicals like kerosene, with just a dab of cocaine. I can only hope that the little friends I made during my short time there don't fall into that trap.



My time with LIFE was cut short due to the discovery of another project, one which could not have been more perfect for me. Colette found the project description whilst we were studying at Spanish school and rushed to show me. Fundacion Argentina Etoecologia, an NGO based in BA, was looking for an intern to create a programe of climate change education to be used by teachers in primary schools accross Argentina. The internship would last 4 weeks, and require a second week of Spanish school first, to get me up to scratch. I had to apply for the position as I would a formal job, including a cover letter and CV......in Spanish!

So it was set ; 5 more weeks in Buenas Aires. Colette would work at an orphanage whilst I worked on my project. This was a significant change in the grand plan, and the thought of spending that length of time in the big city didn't exactly fill me with joy, but I knew since reading the description that there was no choice in the matter - this was perfect for me and an opportunity I could not refuse. Spreading the word about climate change is partly why I'm here afterall.



So, for 4 weeks I planned and created a short programme of climate change awareness education including teacher's notes on how to use the package effectively. I worked in the apartment of Alcira, FAE's president, in the Constitution area of BA. Other tasks included helping her with translations of letters to other environmental organisations and advising a member of the Argentinian Navy on the impacts of climate change on the marine ecosystem.
Alcira seemed impressed with my work and as a result made me an official representative of the organisation!

Prince Charles must have had the same idea - during my time with FAE he was out visiting South American leaders to try and drive home how close we are to catastrophic global meltdown http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2009/mar/12/prince-charles-brazil-climate-change-warning. Maybe he's been reading my blog? If so Charley, why didnt you take the boat? Surely not a case of insufficiant time and funds old boy? Really though, big up to the prince meister - he is doing a lot of good stuff for the cause, I only wish others with such high profiles would make some noise.


As we hadn't planned to be in BA for so long, and Argentina is one of the more expensive countries we'll visit, we decided that we had to cut our daily living expenses so that we dont have to make too many sacrifices later in the trip. So, we made a profile on Couch Surfers http://www.couchsurfing.com/ and began looking for people to take us in. The concept is simple; there are many people in the world who like to meet people from other countries/cultures and simply want to help out others, so a network as formed in which people offer space in their homes for people to come and live! For free! I'd heard about it a few years ago, but this was the first time I've been involved.

We've had a good experience so far. We stayed in a palace of a home with a new Argentinian friend, Yami, complete with indoor pool, hooker pipe and our own private room with onsuite bathroom (only the finest marble of course) for a week. We even had a maid! Then we stayed with a guy called Jeff from Oklahoma for 2.5 weeks in his nice 12 story high city apartment, with an amazing view out accross the city and again our own room. It's a different world up there, a community living high above the other city inhabitants, kind of like the canopy high up in the rainforest. There was a dove nesting on his balcony, it's egg hatched during our stay, and we often saw urban birds of prey circling above.

As well as making new friends, we've saved a fair sum of dosh - often its the daily accommodation fees which make up the largest percantage of your daily spending when traveling. And to honour the exchange, we've already offered the homes of our parents to a whole array of fascinating characters, who are probably on their way to England as we speak. He he he, not really, don't worry Mum & Dad, joke!

But really, as soon as I get settled back home I'll definately repay the Karma and have people to stay.