Schools in Argentina
The country where Piecitos was born currently has 8 schools located in Jujuy, Salta, Tucumán, Misiones, Mar del Plata, Mendoza and Chaco. In addition to our cross-cutting work in phases, we would like to bring you some of the features that make them special. There, the spirit of solidarity of those "pioneering" Prosegur managers who discovered the first centres is more alive than ever.
Incorporated in 2006, it is one of the pioneer schools in the programme. An educational centre that is focusing on the generation of healthy lifestyle habits and sports practice. The construction of a sports centre has made it possible to organise championships, with the support of Prosegur volunteers. In addition, it is a school that stands out for the implementation of music workshops, which has been a point of interaction and strengthening of the educational community, leading to the creation of a musical group. In this way, it has a positive impact on the integral development of its students, and with the production of a CD with their performances, it obtains resources for its self-sustainability.
With the arrival of our Development Cooperation programme in 2006, the relationships of the entire educational community have been strengthened, enhancing joint work. In this spirit of collaboration, the families came up with the initiative to build a library, with the support of Prosegur volunteers, both in the construction and in the donation of materials. This institution was also the first Argentinean piecito school to build a laying hen pen to supply the school canteen, and today, it is an inspiration for the rest of the schools in the programme.
Institution located in the mountains and difficult to access, where students stay from Monday to Friday, functioning as a school-hostel. In addition to teaching, teachers there strengthen their socio-emotional development, values education and implement extracurricular activities, such as language reinforcement or learning through their natural environment. In addition, with the support of Prosegur volunteers, a chicken coop and a greenhouse have been built, which year after year increases its production, with a direct impact on self-consumption and the nutritional state of the children.
Given the building situation we found when we arrived in 2008, the school had to be completely rebuilt to provide a safe environment for study. With the initiative of a group of mothers, and the support of the school management, a sewing workshop was set up to produce school uniforms and other items needed to maintain the common areas. In addition, thanks to the collaborative work between the teaching staff and the company, and the partnerships made with Fundación Leer and the Prado Museum, training activities in art and reading and writing open to the community are promoted, which have significantly enhanced creativity and critical thinking.
This speech centre for deaf and hard of hearing children represents a very special school for Piecitos because of its inclusive character. A centre that faces challenges in implementing some initiatives, but always manages to overcome obstacles. It does this through its adaptability, strong sense of community and teamwork. An example of this resilient spirit is the Art Initiation Course at the Prado Museum, in which all the materials were adapted; the volunteer-teachers' explanations were reinforced by experts in sign language, achieving the same positive impact on their visual sensitivity.
As a centre that functions as a hostel, the school becomes a reference point for value formation and lifelong learning beyond the classroom. With this profile, it promotes actions for self-sufficiency and focuses on entrepreneurship initiatives. This is the case of the participation of its students in the "Awaken, Create and Transform" programme that we carry out with the Créate Foundation. The students developed a project offering solutions to the problem of violence in the classroom, and one of their teams was selected to travel to Spain to present their idea at the Drawing Ed school entrepreneurship fair. A truly transformative experience: personal and formative.
In this school, incorporated in 2017, a project has been implemented to promote reading from an early age among pupils. A motivating challenge for the children, which has led to the improvement of their reading and writing skills, with a wide range of support tools including books, videos and tutorials for teachers. An initiative to improve education in a fundamental competence, in which more than 100 pupils from this school have participated and around 2,000 books have been read.
As a new school to the programme, we are currently focusing on adapting and refurbishing the infrastructure to ensure that the school is a safe and dignified space for students to learn. With that foundation secured, we will begin to implement the remaining phases of our model.