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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.
RETURN TO TOP
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. RETURN TO TOP
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