| IVY-ARGENTINA
COMMITTEE (Operation Canasta II) This
committee was formed to assist organizations who help the needy
in Argentina. The history
of this committee appears at the bottom of this page.
The Ivy-Argentina Committee currently
provides support through these organizations:
KERISPEN
This organization provides support
for the children of some 60 impoverished families in Rio Grande,
Tierra del Fuego. Some of these funds have been used to
train and help a group of mothers to start self-sustaining micro-enterprises
making such products as jewelry, hats, bags, and knit goods.
LA
CAVA
This organization provides some funds
to support residents of the shanty town of San Isidro, Argentina.
FUNDACION
DE IDEAS
This organization was founded in
the province of El Chaco by a group of young professionals responding
to the social needs of the community. Currently this organization
is working with the indigenous group "toba" to provide
food and assistance to 60 severely malnourished children and their
families.
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HOW
IT ALL BEGAN - “Operation Canasta”
The economic crisis of 2001 left
70% of all Argentine children living in poverty. In June
2002, under the auspices of the Ivy Inter-American Foundation,
a group of Americans and Argentines who were moved by the plight
of hungry children, formed Operation Canasta.
There were 23 comedores (soup kitchens),
located in all but one province of the country. Each comedor
feed approximately 170 children a day. Many of these comedores
did not exist before the arrival of funds from Operation Canasta. The
ones that did were able to serve only meager portions of food
and often had the children eating off of deteriorated wooden boards. Operation
Canasta improved the quality of the food and the condition of
the kitchens and dining areas.
Operation Canasta received many moving
letters and testimonials from the local volunteers as well as
from the children. The theme was similar: your gift of food is
saving lives every single day.
Operation Canasta ended in December
2003, when the soup kitchens were taken over by communities, corporations,
banks, and businesses. In 2004, after the completion of this
successful project, the Ivy-Argentina Committee was formed to
continue helping organizations who help the needy children of
Argentina.
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