Now a project initiated by
Charlotte while in Argentina is nearing completion and will significantly
benefit the children at the Rector Avanzi Preschool in Alta Gracia by adding an
outside shelter. How did one young exchange student come to deliver a project
benefitting so many?
Charlotte visited the Rector
Avanzi Preschool in a very poor neighbourhood. The school had been established
in an old slaughterhouse that hadn’t been well cleaned out and it had almost no
materials or resources. With only one room, classes had to be taken outside in
the heat and dust of summer and the cold of winter.
Charlotte said that that after
visiting the preschool the first time, it made her feel so sad comparing the
school with the opportunities she had, so this made her want to help make a
difference. This goal captured in a very real way the exchange programme’s goal
of building international goodwill and understanding.
Charlotte explained, “the
preschool is in an area known as ‘Knife Neighbourhood’ due to how dangerous it
is, and the majority of kids born there will live there for the rest of their
lives just like their parents. They have no idea of another life from the one
they live. The school is giving these kids the chance to get educated and get a
job and make a new life for themselves.”
Teaming up with the local
Interact club, Charlotte and the Interactors built and painted chairs for the
children, delivered them to the school, and played with the children. She said,
“the look on the teachers and kids’ faces when they saw us walking in with the
colourful chairs was amazing!”
Charlotte also saw the
opportunity for a larger project to construct a shelter on the side of the
school building to protect the children from the weather while in their outdoor
classes. Charlotte won the support of her host Rotary Club of Alta Gracia for
the project and contacted her sponsor NZ and Pacific Islands-based District
9920 to also get more support for the project and its initial fundraising
target of $14,000.
Impressed by the caring and
compassionate heart of this young exchange student, many Rotary clubs joined
with Charlotte and her family donations, and the target fundraising is now
almost completed with the last few hundred dollars expected shortly.
There is still a funding
shortfall for the larger project which Alta Gracia club will cover, but
Charlotte is keen to continue fundraising towards it. The project is
expected to commence shortly, and on completion, will demonstrate what one
young student can achieve within the framework of Rotary Youth Exchange with
Rotary’s help.
Charlotte emphasised, “I was
looked after extremely well in Argentina surrounded by such caring and loving
people. This is a wonderful way to say thank you and have a positive
influence on the lives of many youngsters and improve their local community.”
