Internship Wrap-Up

My internship officially ended on Friday, September 12.  However, the week following I was more busy than I had been since I arrived.  I finished buying all the supplies for the comedor.  On Tuesday, the new group of interns came and painted the inside of the comedor (this time with a much better quality paint…or maybe it is because Fabian didn’t add water like they told him to, if you don’t add water, paint is less watery!)  On Wednesday afternoon I held the brief hygiene workshop.  I don’t know if they got much out of it.  I also wasn’t very prepared and am not much of an expert, so I am not sure if there was much to get out of it.  But if nothing else, at least now they spray bottles which they can fill with bleach solution to clean and a variety of new wash clothes and cleaning supplies that can be used.  I still need to buy a few more things with the money that is left, but am waiting to find out how much they need to buy materials to build the table.  Then I will know how much is left to buy the few small remaining items.

 

The following are accomplishments of my internship: 

 

1. Raised $445 from friends and relative in the United States to assist the comedor.

 

2. Bought needed basic kitchen supplies, cleaning supplies, and a cabinet to keep them safely stored.

 

3. Led a workshop on hygiene and cleanliness so food preparers would understand the importance of a clean kitchen and disinfecting work areas.

 

4. Made needed repairs to the panadería, including installation of electricity and sink, fixing cracked walls, fully closing the room, and laying fresh concrete on the floor.

 

5. Painted inside and outside of both the comedor and panadería.

 

 

Apart from the comedor, I also worked on creating an updatable database of Argentine resources to facilitate connections with short-term interns.  The database is still in the works, but I am in the process of collecting information from people who would like to volunteer their time to help with internship projects, or who can give helpful tips on where to find resources related to a particular area.  Once I have gathered several resources, I will work on putting them into an excel spreadsheet so that future interns can access the information and hopefully quickly find resources they are looking for.  I will also create it so that interns in the future to contribute to the growth of the database. 

!MUCHIÍSIMAS GRACIAS!

Thank you so much to everyone who donated to my internship project.  $445 was raised in total.  The money was used to buy many of the supplies needed.  Kitchen utensils include: good cutting knives (no more steak knives to chop potatoes!), spatulas, stirring spoons (no more nasty wooden ones!), potato peeler and shredder, can openers (see my blog on my can opening experience), plastic cutting boards (the wooden ones they were using were old and shedding splinters), and lighters for the stove.  Cleaning products were also bought so they can keep everything sanitized: sponges, wash clothes, and towels, brooms, mops, soap, and bleach to disinfect everything.  (I also held a short workshop on hygiene, so that all the women would be on the same page in terms of how to properly disinfect and clean their work areas and utensils.) 

 

A large cabinet was bought to store all the kitchen utensils, so that they would no longer be hung on the wall or places on a table (which is a large improvement seeing as the room is not fully sealed to outside critters.)  Materials were bought to fix one of the stove tops burners and to build a new one, they will also get materials to build a sturdy table in which to place the burners.  There was also enough money left over to buy concrete to lay a fresh sheet on the floor….the floor has lots of holes and was nearly impossible to sweep free of dust.  A new floor will also give a good study base to support the new tables.

 

Thanks to everyone who donated – you are all amazing, I appreciate it tons as do the women who will get to benefit from all the new supplies!

Comedor Progress

Things are slowing starting to pull together in the panadería.  Daniel, Marta’s husband, had off this week so he was able to get some work done.  He tiled the concrete table and installed the sink, though water still need to be connected from the comedor side.  Things that still need to be done: tile backing to tile table (wall covering), water installation, lock on door, concrete cover on floor, metal bars on window, and chains drilled into floor to secure mixer. 

 

My latest challenge with the comedor is the quality of work that is being done.  I am really not satisfied with the work has been done (with the exception of the electricity my host father installed, which was awesome.)  I used part of my seeds fund budget ($200) to pay a guy to fill in cracks in the wall with concrete (because I thought it would get done faster that way, yeah right!)  The places where concrete were added look horrible.  Concrete is splattered all over wall and floor and it was not smoothed out after it was applied so there are very rough spots in the wall.  It looks really bad.  The concrete table is supported by three pillars of bricks that are all slightly tilted.  The sink that Daniel installed the other day is also supported by tilted bricks.  I did notice this as he was starting and was going to say something, but before I could he explained that it had to slant out because he miscalculated the distance they needed to be apart.  I also spent several hours painting the outside of the comedor a very light green color that did not really cover the rust underneath, which a water-based interior paint.  I didn’t even bother asking why.  I guess I just don’t feel criticizing what they are doing – and it is probably what they use to pain their own houses and who am I to say its not good enough – or not even worth doing.  This is my latest frustration.

 

We painted the comedor, inside and outside.  Both with thin, runny water based paint.  The outside we painted a dull green color and the inside white.  The paint doesn’t really cover well, the white reminded me of painting something with glue, kind of a translucent coat.  It really bothered me that we painted the outside with water based paint to.  However, I didn’t say anything, I don’t really feel qualified to criticize what they do.  Marta also confirmed today that it is the same paint that they used for their house, so I am glad I didn’t mention that for me the paint wasn’t good enough.  I just have to get used to the fact that things are done differently here, and if they are happy with the work, that is good enough, it is their comedor. 

Pics de mi Comedor!

Hi Everyone, I have attached pics of my comedor.

This is the gas tank and burners they use to cook all their food.

Outside of my comedor. the right door is the comedor and the left goes to the panaderia

Outhouse of the comedor, I have been told you need a bucket of water to flush the toiler…I do not know as I have never used it.

You can donate to the Argentine poor!

Dear Family and Friends,

 

In June of this year I accepted a three-month internship in Argentina through the Foundation for Sustainable Development (www.fsdinternational.org).  I am very interested in international microfinance/microenterprise and felt hands on experience within the field was essential.  I also welcomed the opportunity to travel abroad and strengthen my Spanish skills. 

 

I am currently living in La Plata, Argentina (about an hour outside of Buenos Aires) and working in a “comedor” which is a combination of a soup kitchen and community forum.  My primary responsibility is to work with a Panadería or bread bakery cooperative they are trying to implement.  Due to some delays in the bakery project I have also spent significant time with the soup kitchen. 

 

I am writing to ask for your help in raising funds for a project I am working on.  The soup kitchen lacks many basic cooking utensils that you couldn’t imagine cooking without.  A donation of just $5 to $20 would go a long way in helping these people purchase supplies they desperately need.  Donations will be used to purchase items such as:

 

• Cooking utensils
  • Knives
  • Cutting Boards
  • Stirring spoons
• Cloth products
  • Wash clothes
  • Towels
  • Aprons
  • Table clothes

 

• Cleaning Supplies
  • Soap
  • Disinfectant
  • Hand sanitizer
  • Steel wool
  • Sponges
• Tables
• Shelves
• Storage containers

If you are willing to donate, please see instructions below for mailing your donations, or paying online through PayPal.  Please send your donation by Friday, August 22, 2008 so that there is plenty of time for the FSD office to process the donations and get to me so I can make the needed purchases in Argentina.  As FSD is a 501(c)(3) all donations are 100 percent tax deductible.  The women of the comedor and I truly would appreciate your donation.

 

For more information on the specific projects I am working on, or the people I am working with, please feel free to contact me, I would love to share.  I am also keeping a blog (www.jacquelynk.wordpress.com) that has stories and pictures of both my work and life while living in Argentina.  Though I am enjoying my experience and learning a lot, I look forward to returning to the United States in September.

 

With love,

 

 

Jackie Koehler

 

 

CHECKS:  Make checks payable to ¨FSD International¨, please contact me for address to send checks.

Please write ¨Argentina – Jacquelyn Koehler¨ in the notes so that the money goes towards my project.

 

INTERNET via PayPal (you will need a PayPal account to complete the transaction – FSD keeps 5% of PayPal donations for processing expenses):            

Visit www.fsdinternational.org and click on ¨Donate¨ in the left column.  Scroll to bottom page and under ¨Project Development and Capacity Building Fund¨ click on ¨Donate¨  This will take you to a page where you can sign in to PayPal or sign up for an account.  Once you have logged in you can make a donation.  Make sure to in the notes to include ¨Argentina – Jacquelyn Koehler¨ to make sure that the money makes it to my project.

Monday, August 11, 2008

I finally met my host brother last weekend!  Santiago arrived on Thursday morning and stayed till Sunday night.  He is a student in Bahía Blanca about 8 hours south of La Plata along the coast.  He studies there as a mechanical engineering student.  Bahía Blanca is close to Tornquist, the small town where the family is from (everyone else moved up here about four years ago, but he had already started school there so he stayed.) 

 

He was very nice, I am glad I met him.  I am kind of sad he doesn’t live here all the time, because I think we would get along well.  He is not as shy as his sister, our conversations weren’t quite as strained as my conversations with Flor.  Flor is shy as am I, so our conversations are always difficult…and most of the time her boyfriend and friends are around, so she has other things to do.  With Santiago, he doesn’t live her full time, so he doesn’t have friends to go out with.  I did ask him and Flor to go out with my and the other interns several time over the weekend and he never went…it’s probably weird to go out with a bunch of foreigners anyway. 

 

Two of the interns, Samiron and Kristen only have two weeks left.  I can’t believe the time has gone by so quickly!  I on the other hand only have four weeks left.  Everyday I struggle with should I stay or go?  I miss everyone of course (especially Colton and Clayton….no offense to anyone else J ).  But I also feel like I could still use to improve my Spanish.  I also wouldn’t mind traveling around more.  I guess we will see what happens!

 

GREAT ACCOMPLISHMENT AT THE COMEDOR!!!

On Friday, Claudio (my host dad) made Santiago go with him to the comedor to install all the electricity.  We went about 9:30 (shortly after the Opening Ceremony of the Olympics, we saw a small part of it).  Claudio thought it would take about 2 hours to install the electricity…we were there until 3:30, that is six hours for those of you who don’t want to calculate it!  However, he did an awesome job!  In the comedor/cooking side of the building, the electricity consists of the wiring strung around the room to whatever location it needs to reach, not necessarily following a hard surface, so in several places there are hanging wires.  Claudio brought his own materials and used plastic tubing that he affixed to the walls and then strung the wires through so that they were not exposed. 

 

Anyway I was pretty impressed.  He also brought some of his own light fixtures, some heavy duty ones with a “turtle” shell covering to prevent it form breaking easily (in the comedor side, the outside light is a bulb with a cut off top of a pop bottle surrounding it).  Claudio also told my supervisor that he would come back this week to rewire the comedor so that the wires are not exposed.  Hopefully he has time to do it…who knows I might become an electrician expert by the time I leave.  I need to figure out how to repay him.  Not only did he give his time, most of the supplies he used were his and not the ones that had been previously bought by the comedor, mainly because his way of doing things was better.  Unfortunately I do not think it is as easy as asking him to write me a bill, I think I will have to convince him to write a bill. 

FSD Projects – Comedor

All FSD interns are assigned to an organization and have varying hours of work…up to 40 hours per week.  My friends Amber is in this situation…she works 8:30 to 4:30 Monday through Friday.  I however have it slightly more flexible.  Though I came to work with the comedor’s “microenpredamiento” (microenterprise) it is not actually functional yet (more about that later).  So that I am not sitting around doing nothing, I try to go in the morning to the comedor to “help” the women cook the meal for that day.  They usually start around 7:30 and end at 10.  I usually show up about 8/8:30ish, meaning I work a maximum of 10 hours per week (I like to think that I do other helpful things in my waking hours.) 

 

When I say try there are several prohibitors. 

1. If it is raining I do not go.  The tin roof of the comedor is speckled with small holes (possible cause by a hail storm last year) which causes it to leak when it rains, making cooking difficult – therefore, if it rains they do not cook.  (Food for thought – how would you feel if you couldn’t eat when it rained?) 
2. Last week the propane tank they use to fire the burners ran out.  They had another full one in the house of my supervisor (Marta).  However, due to rain, the streets that access the comedor were pure mud (the area where I work does not have paved streets) making it near impossible to transfer the heavy 5 foot tall tank to the comedor.  Therefore they did not cook for two days. 
3. There were a couple of days in which the keys of the comedor were misplaced (I think they were eventually found in the pocket of Marta’s son’s coat.)  Since they couldn’t get in they couldn’t cook. 
4. Actually corresponded with one of the days when the keys were lost, but a group of people from the comedor went to protest to get funds for a different comedor.  (I am not exactly sure of the details of this one.  I showed up to help at the comedor and she said they were going to protest and expected me to go – I felt uncomfortable with this for several reasons, one of which we were specifically asked not to participate in protests by the FSD program, another I was tired, cranky and sick.  I actually got out of this one because it was the day that conjunctivitis formed in my eye causing it to be red, everyone was concerned and said I should stay home and go to the doctor.  Miriam did end up taking me to the doctor that afternoon and I got some eye drops….unfortunately I had to wear glasses for a week which was a pain.) 
5. Sometimes I just really can’t convince myself to get out of bed – exacerbated when I had a cold – and since I am not actually much help anyway, I justify it (I know that it just laziness, but it does happen sometimes.)

 

As to my actual daily role in the comedor, it is kind of a joke.  However, since the panadería is not functioning, I hang out there anyway so that I am at least interacting with Argentines.  Of course getting cooking help from a foreigner might not be so helpful…I have finally made myself useful by cutting vegetables and sweeping the floor when they are done.  However, my time there has helped me identify several needs of the comedor.  As some of you may have read in my previous posts, their kitchen is lacking various basic cooking utensils.  The knives in the comedor are comparable to steak knives.  These small knives are used to cut hard vegetables such as carrots, potatoes, and butternut squash, not an easy task!  They did not have a can opener and one day I had to use a broken knife blade and hammer it into the can inch by inch.  After telling my host mom this, she brought me a small manual can opener which I have made good use of since.  They use fairly old wooden cutting boards, whose potential hazard for bacteria prevents me from eating the food as much as possible…same goes for the one wooden stirring stick they possess.  They also are short on clean wash rags, towels, soap etc. 

 

Though not assigned particularly to work with the comedor, I want to help with their current situation.  As a result I am asking my family, friends, or anyone who reads this to give a small donation that can be used to buy some of these basic cooking utensils that most American’s wouldn’t imagine trying to cook without.  Most of you have or will receive a letter from asking for small monetary donation which I will use to buy these supplies.  I and they would greatly appreciate anything you can give!  If you didn’t receive the letter from me, send me an email or comment and I will let you know how you can contribute!

 

As for the actual Panadería (bread bakery) in which I came to work with, the outcome is still in the air.  The Panadería’s physical location will be in a small room that is directly connected to the comedor.  The actual room is about as precarious as the comedor – tin roof and walls, round wooden beans support the structure, some of which are badly burned from a fire that occurred in the previous comedor location.  One wall is made of brick…and I can’t quite figure out why but part of it is slightly collapsed in.  There are spaces between the roof and the wall, leaving the room exposed to the outside.  There is no water or electricity currently in the room.  When I arrived, the business was not yet functional (and still is not).  Due to a grant received by the previous intern, they were able to buy all the materials necessary to make the needed repairs on the room.  They also have everything they need to start the business, including a 30 kilo mixer and ingredients to make the first batches of bread.  However, security is also a problem.  The door currently has no lock (actually has no door knob at all the door is usually swinging open) and there is concern about security of the expensive equipment (the mixer).  Marta (my supervisor) wants to and has started to build a small shack on the property where her son can sleep/live so there is someone there looking after the place at night.  I personally am not convinced that it is the best or most cost effective way to create security (I think a good door lock and maybe a chain and lock securing the mixer would be sufficient), but have decided to let her do what she thinks is best – I do not live there, I do not know the best security options.  However, have not offered my “seeds fund budget” to help with that particular project.)

 

They have all the supplies to work in fix up the room so they can start the panadería.  Daniel, Marta’s husband, can do all the repairs, but he works and I think does a lot of advocating for the community so doesn’t have much spare time.  When I arrived, I figured the quickest way to get the repairs done and start the business was to pay someone to do it – after all I came to work with the Panadería and wouldn’t get that chance unless it was finished.  Each intern is “given” (I am pretty sure I am paying myself here as it was not free to come…) a $200 seeds fund budget for the project they decide to do.  For some that may be all they need, and if greater needs are identified they can write a grant for a project.  I didn’t write a grant because I felt the Panadería already had all the materials they needed.  I offered my seeds fund budget to pay someone for the repairs.  The quote we were given was the equivalent of about $150. 

 

This was four weeks ago and the repairs still haven’t been finished.  The guy has come several times and has accomplished some, fixing cracks in the wall and closing the gap between the ceiling and wall.  However, the “reason” I have been given (fairly legitimate) is that the wet and humid weather prevents the concrete from drying so we have to wait for better weather.  I have since also asked my host dad, Claudio to help out.  Claudio is currently unemployed so he is home all day and has vast experience with pretty much anything house/remodeling related, and also mechanic/automobile related.  Claudio has volunteered to help with getting all the electrical related stuff squared away and possible plumbing/water as well.  Claudio and I (and Miriam, my host mom) went to the comedor with Daniel so he could explain to Claudio what all needed to be done.  Hopefully tomorrow, Claudio and I will go to the comedor/panadería to get some much needed work done.

 

Lessons Learned:  If I could go back I would probably have used my seeds fund budget for something different.  Had I realized that paying someone was not going to be a quick and easy solution, I would have tried to organize a work day with people in the neighborhood and asked Claudio sooner for help.  However, I cannot go back in time, but am hoping that within the next week or two we will have a functional building and hopefully a functional Panadería.

Monday, July 21, 2008

Weather has definitely turned cold and dreary again.  This morning it was about 10 degrees Celsius, which I think is about 50 Fahrenheit, but it is also really rainy which makes it seem super cold (and there is no central air…anywhere, which means never actually getting warm L )  So I decided I had to go to my comedor to see if anyone was cooking (they don’t generally cook in the rain because the roof has leaks in it that prevents them from cooking in the rain).  There was only one women there today accompanied by her two-year-old son.  I am glad I ended up going because she needed help since she was by herself.

 

My accomplishments today – I opened 15 cans of spam (which was not easy) half of them I opened the “difficult way” until another woman came and showed me the real way you were supposed to open them.  (It is hard to explain, but it is the type of cans you are supposed to be able to open without a can opener, however, if you don’t know how it works, it makes it harder.)  Then I opened several cans of peas – however, the comedor does not have a can opener.  So I used the blade of a large meat knife (I don’t know what happened to the handle) and pounded it into the tin little by little with a knife sharpener and worked my way around the edge of the can until it was open even for me to pry the top of.  As a result I know have a cut on my finger….its a wonder I only have one.  Anyway for all that work, the food looked gross…I wouldn’t have eaten it.  But I am glad I went to help since Rosa was there by herself.  I also spent some time chatting with my supervisor Marta afterward – which really just gave me ideas for more projects that could be done for the comedor, but that I don’t have enough time here to help with.

Monday, June 30, 2008: Starting off with family and work

I look pretty stupid next to her dressed up ready to return to school...

This weekend I met my host sister, Florencia.  Many of her friends live very far away from the school so they come to La Plata on the weekend, and Florencia’s parents act as surrogate parents for many of these students.  As a result, there are always young people around on the weekend, which is nice.  Florencia has a boyfriend, which makes her less available to hang out with me, but one of her friends, Stephanie took me downtown to run some errands.  Stephanie is very outgoing, so she is always talking (which is good because then I have to talk less) and she is also patient with explaining the things I miss in Spanish.  Another friend, Perla, said we should go out dancing sometime.  Unfortunately they all have short trips via ship in the coming weeks and no one will be returning to La Plata for several weeks and shortly after that they have two weeks of vacation in which many will return to their homes.  One girl, Patricia (Perla’s sister, but not in the naval academy), did invite me to her home in Missiones (northern province) near Iguazú Falls, which I believe is the largest natural waterfall in the world (per Claudio).  Patricia also said we could cross the border into Paraguay to go shopping because everything is cheaper there.  Unfortunately, I think it is against FSD regulation to leave the country…I am not sure what I am going to do about this yet.  (It is also 18 hours away which is another road bump…) 

 

 

 

I met my supervisor for the comedor today also.  Marta lives in the barrio Altos Hornos de San Lorenzo – which is also where I live.  However, she lives in an area that they refer to as “asentimiento”; the people that live there do not own they land.  After the 2001 economic crisis, many people came to the city (I am assuming to look for work or government help) and settled on this open land.  The houses are varying degrees of shacks.  Tin roofs and walls on concrete slabs seems to be the norm.  Marta is from northern Argentina (Missiones) but said that many of the people that live near here are from other countries – Bolivia, Paraguay, and maybe Uruguay also.  One house she pointed out she said a Yugoslavian woman lived there…I will have to get to the bottom of that, it seems like an awfully long way to come. 

 

The comedor where I will work is more impoverished than I had imagined.  All the interns had visited a comedor during our orientation week which appeared to be in a fairly normal looking neighborhood and it was housed in a solid infrastructure.  The people who came to eat looked like any other children in the neighborhood.  However, my comedor, La Estrategia de Caracol (I believe the translation is Strategy of the Snail, I am not exactly sure of the significance) is located in a fairly precarious looking building.  There are holes in the tin roof and the major wooden pillars that support the structure were salvaged from the first structure that was destroyed in a fire.  The bathroom is an outhouse in another tin shack.  The concrete floor has cracks and there are spaces between the walls and ceiling that need to be filled. 

 

After my first visit with Marta it appears as though the panadería, or the baking cooperative, has not been fully realized yet.  They have bought an industrial strength mixer, but it is sitting in Marta’s living room because the comedor is not secure enough to house such expensive equipment.  The price of flour is also sky-rocketing making it not cost effective to make and sell the bread. 

 

On Wednesday I will go to the comedor and help them transplant some plants in their garden (their first intern helped to create this garden) and I will get to meet all the women that help out at the comedor (members of the community who volunteer their time.)  After I meet everyone, I think I will then be in a position to stop by the comedor whenever I want.  I want to start talking to the women to find out the needs of their community and comedor and their interest in growing the panadería.  After learning of their needs, I will have to make a “work plan” for my internship.  Each intern has $200 available to realize a project and longer internships (which I think I qualify for) will have the opportunity to apply for additional grant moneys.  After my first visit with Marta it seems as though their major need is man power to make needed infrastructure changes to the comedor.  They already have most of the supplies, but Marta’s husband seems to be the only one available to make improvements and he has limited time.  I am not sure if this is because of lack of trust or confidence in using other man power, or just lack of available funds. 

 

The next couple of weeks I will spend getting to know the women of the comedor to realize a plan that will be meaningful and beneficial to the local community.