OUR ACTIONS By continentAfricaLatin AmericaAsiaEurope and Middle EastUSABy theme Sustainable Development NETWORK COODRINATIONTRAINING Country: Argentina, Bahía Blanca The objective of this project is to gain greater energy independence from gas and/or electricity companies. This would eliminate the problem of dealing with rising prices and/or possible supply problems, while at the same time helping people develop needed skills that will enable them to improve family resources. Read more Country: Argentina, La Banda, Santiago del Estero During the Covid-19 pandemic, AIC Argentina volunteers wanted to help vulnerable people cope with the lack of work and economic hardship caused by the crisis. They set up a bakery training course, which enabled beneficiaries to sell sweet dishes delivered home or for family events. These sales provided beneficiaries and their families with a source of income during the pandemic. Read more Country: Brazil, Campina Grande (north-east) Enabling 30 children and adolescents from a marginalised community to dream of “another world”: this is the mission of the “Imagine” project run by AIC volunteers from Campina Grande. The activities are many and varied, including educational support, teaching about peace and citizenship, raising awareness about preserving the planet to guarantee a better future and art workshops to encourage artistic and cultural awakening. Read more Country: Brazil, Curibita (south-east) This community vegetable garden, set up in 2017 in partnership with the Curitiba City Council, has transformed wasteland used for illicit activities into green spaces producing organic vegetables that benefit local residents. The result is twofold: providing healthy food for disadvantaged people from the community and making the district safer. Around twenty volunteers work in the vegetable garden every week and distribute the produce to the local population. The garden regularly welcomes children as well as students from local universities. The project was awarded AIC’s Dominique Prize for Sustainable Development in 2018. Read more Country: Colombia, Bogota In Bogota, AIC volunteers offer support to “internally displaced persons”, meaning people who have had to flee their homes because of the armed conflict in Colombia and who have settled in the capital. Volunteers offer them training in IT, cooking and entrepreneurship to develop their skills, as well as psychosocial and spiritual support to help them rebuild their lives. Read more Country: Colombia, Bogota Cheerful Children, Valued Women, Happy Families … Zero Violence! This project aims to reduce the number of women and children affected by intra-family violence by training future parents in important values, such as truth, unity and tolerance. Comprehensive training is provided through “parenting workshops” with talks and documents. Through this project, the volunteers want to create a culture of non-violence with parents and children and contribute to the continuous improvement of the children’s academic ability. Read more Country: Colombia, Mocoa Making eco-bricks to build a ‘model’ house is a good example of AIC Mocoa in Colombia’s sustainable development action. The project encourages the creation of useful materials from rubbish and highlights the need to develop innovative ideas. In addition, the process emphasises the importance of ongoing community initiatives. Read more Country: Dominican Republic, north and east regions This is a huge professional reintegration project run by AIC Dominican Republic since 2014. More than 560 people who were excluded from the job market have benefitted from professional training as well as educational workshops on participative and cooperative management, human and family rights, etc. The objective is to find a job in the private sector or to create an income-generating activity from home. Read more Country: Ecuador, San Gabriel For several years, AIC volunteers in San Gabriel, Ecuador, have been distributing meals every Saturday to about disadvantaged 150 people. In 2021, the volunteers decided to create an urban vegetable garden next to their dining hall. The garden was set up with the help of high school students and staff, and harvested products now go directly from the fields to the kitchen, where they are used as ingredients for the meal distributions. The garden produce has allowed the volunteers to reduce their costs, and using these local ingredients minimizes the CO2 emissions linked to food transport. The vegetable garden therefore brings economic, environmental and social benefits all at the same time. Read more Country: Mexico, San Luis Potosi Sexual abuse, paedophilia and harassment happen every day and are often treated as inevitable facts-of-life that children risk encountering. Faced with the ignorance and lack of awareness about this type of violence, which severely affects children’s lives and has huge consequences that last into adulthood, the AIC volunteers from the Marillac Centre couldn’t remain indifferent. So they started a project with the objective of supporting children who have been victims of sexual abuse, but also of preventing it and raising awareness among parents and the community. Read more Country: Peru, Naranjos This project aims to improve the health of residents in the Naranjos region of Peru, by giving them the opportunity to grow and consume organic vegetables. Local organic gardens contribute to protecting the environment by avoiding the use of agrochemicals. Growing vegetables locally also reduces transport-related CO2 emissions as well as food costs. The project was awarded AIC’s Dominique Prize for Sustainable Development in 2022. Read more Country: Peru, Awajun The “TAMAR” project was set up to address the high rates of violence against women in the Awajun community in Peru. The project seeks to fight poverty through education, by raising awareness about the different forms of violence against women among the students, parents and teachers of two schools. Awareness-raising workshops provide people who are victims of violence information about their rights and encourage all participants to adopt behaviours that promote gender equality. Vocational training is offered to women who are victims of violence, to enable them to gain economic independence within their homes. This project won the AIC Delva Prize in 2021. Read more
TWINNINGSREPRESENTATIONS LATIN AMERICA
Sustainable self-built solar water heaters – Sustainable Development
P.A.N.N. (“We Produce, Feed, Nourish, Needs”) – Combatting contemporary forms of poverty
Imagine Project – Sustainable Development
Community Vegetable Garden – Sustainable Development
Supporting people who are victims of the armed conflict and/or in situations of vulnerability to recover their dignity
Parents: trained for zero intra-family violence
Manufacture of ecological bricks
‘Solidarity in Production and Stronger Communities’ – Training
Urban vegetable gardens, a source of hope – Sustainable development
“For the respect and dignity of our children” – Preventing violence
‘Organic gardens: Treading gently to take care of our Common Home’ – Sustainable Development
“TAMAR” – Tackling violence against women