Intern or Volunteer with a Grassroots Community Development Organization in Argentina

  Argentina

• All Other Regions of Argentina: 
La Plata

Term: Academic Year, Fall, Spring, Summer, Throughout the year, Trimester, Winter 
Durations of Program: 1-2 weeks, 2-4 weeks, 5-8 weeks, 9-12 weeks, 3-6 months and 7-12 months
Typical Duration of Program: 9-12 weeks
Dates: See FSD Website

Description: Examples of how you can support Community Development in Argentina:

* Assist a (university) student and faculty-run radio station that works with groups as diverse as children from local shelters, to adults who attend a night school in poorer sections of La Plata. Create radio production workshops that identify community issues and facilitate knowledge exchange to raise self-esteem and capacity building. Give youth in marginalized neighborhoods a chance to express opinions regarding local issues.

* Work with a program that provides meals for impoverished families. Bread-making, computer science, and adult education courses are also offered to help the families gain useful skills.

* Support the local cultural center by hosting community events, workshops, conferences, expositions, and/or book presentations by local authors. Teach capacity building courses in a wide variety of subjects such as piano, sewing, craftwork, theatre, small farming techniques, and English. Expand the community library and resources offered to the community.

* Work with an organization that provides resources for over 58 local food kitchens to confront malnutrition, particularly with children. Connect agriculture producers, schools, and dining halls to feed those in need.

* Get involved with an organization's many community empowerment objectives which include: promoting social, political, and scientific research; offering professional assistance to popular organizations; teaching courses that empower youth groups; and supporting publications that enhance community development.

For more community development opportunities in Argentina, visit our website or contact us directly.

About FSD

The Foundation for Sustainable Development (FSD) is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization founded in 1995 to support underserved, international communities in a collaborative and sustainable manner. Our model incorporates three overlapping programs:

1. Sustainable Development Training Programs for Interns and Volunteers
FSD provides comprehensive training and immersion programs for interns and volunteers seeking hands-on experience in Africa, Asia, and Latin America. Program participants come from countless professions and more than 300 universities worldwide to collaborate with our partner organizations on community-driven projects that reflect sustainable practices.

2. Grantmaking to Projects and Initiatives Led By Our Partner Organizations
Donations and grants given to FSD are used to support projects and initiatives implemented by our partner organizations, site teams, interns, and volunteers.

3. Sustainable Development of Community-Based Organizations
Our professional field staff, consultants, and program participants provide on-site technical training and capacity building to more than 200 community-based organizations.

Highlights: Community Development Issues Addressed by FSD in Argentina
Argentina is a culturally rich country with an extremely educated population, abundant natural resources, and a growing economy. However the country is still drastically divided by a gap between the rich and poor, unresolved national human rights violations, a recent economic crisis, constant political instability, and unenforceable laws and legislation. The most unique condition of Argentina's recent economic crisis is that it created a "new" kind of poor - a highly educated middle class that lost its privilege and was forced to live with a greatly reduced quality of life. This new poor amplified the presence of social movements and political expression. With masses of Argentines coming together to find solutions on their own, the country is growing into a rich resource for nonprofit development and grass roots movements.

FSD is working with many of these NGOs to confront community issues and aggregate resources that empower and give rise to sustainable solutions. Making use of cultural centers for development activities, utilizing radio to mobilize action, supporting job skills programs, empowering youth to become community leaders, and providing food programs for struggling families are ways that FSD supports growing communities in the La Plata region. It is an exciting time to engage in Argentina's redevelopment and take part in a community movement that offers hope for a better nation in the new century.

Minimum Education: High School

Cost in US$: Depends on Program Selected; See FSD Website

Experience Required: no

Typical Volunteer: FSD supports participants who boldly wish to initiate the change they believe is necessary in the developing world. Interns are passionate about sharing their practical knowledge, heart-felt enthusiasm, and economic resources with communities abroad that suffer unnecessary hardship. They wish to gain hands-on, grassroots development experience because they believe change is most powerfully cultivated on a community level. The aim is to experientially learn how their work can empower the community toward applying sustainable development solutions, rather than increasing reliance on foreign aid. Participants choose FSD because the program structure enables them to design and implement their own sustainable projects in collaboration with their host organization and the FSD Site Team. They are able to test their ideas and theories in the most direct way possible, giving them the experience and knowledge they seek. The flexibility of the host organizations allows for participants at all stages and levels of experience in international development to participate, thus opening the programs to a diverse group of capable applicants.

Age Range: 18-75

This Program is open to Worldwide Participants. This Program is also open to Couples and Individuals

Participants Travel to Argentina Independently

Typically Participants Work Independently or in Groups of 3-10

Application Process Involves:

• Letters of Reference
• Phone Interview
• Resume
• Written Application

Post-Program Services Include:

• Alumni Network

Foundation for Sustainable Development's Mission Statement: FSD supports the efforts of grassroots organizations in the developing world that are working to better their communities, environments, and the economic opportunities around them. We believe community development is only sustainable if it empowers the people to effectively use and cultivate their own resources in a conscious manner. Through our programs, we aim to raise international awareness of the economic challenges in developing countries and to support cross-cultural communities in finding more effective solutions to development issues.

Year Founded: 1995