Provide care for 25 battered girls in Argentina

Hello Friends of the Hogar San José,

We are back at school!! Although COVID 19 is still around, we are learning to cope with it, and thankfully, vaccination is slowly moving along, at least for our care takers. We did have two girls with COVID 19 last month, but no complications arose.

Going back to school after 18 months of almost uninterrupted virtual schooling is taking some time to adjust. Social distancing and face masks are mandatory, but nevertheless it is a very welcome change.

The highlight of these four months was our two day, one night trip to Zarate (1 hour away, on the river), during our winter holidays. The girls hadn´t left the home in 16 months, so an outing was really necessary. Many girls rode on horseback for the first time in their lives, we had a beautiful sunset on the river, barbequed, and really enjoyed the change of scenery. 

Three of our girls were adopted (2 sisters and another girl), which is not easy when they are over 12 and one of them has microcephaly. The two sets of adoptive parents are amazing and watching the whole process was incredible. They started getting to know each other via zoom due to the lockdown, and two months later they met.  The girls were soooo excited! As they grow older the possibility of finding an adoptive family becomes more difficult, so when it happens, and they get along with each other, its a miracle. It compensates all the difficulties.

We are still struggling to make ends meet since this year we could not hold our charity dinner either. We are planning a raffle, no events are allowed yet in Argentina. Hence, all help is more than welcome!

Thank you for helping us help these girls!

Hello Friends of the Hogar San José,

COVID 19 has come back with a vengeance. Our girls started school in the first week in March, but it only lasted for a month. We are back in lockdown due to COVIDs second wave.

We were lucky to enjoy our summer though. We had our swimming pool repaired and were able to enjoy it the whole summer. Thanks to a donation, we also started a carpentry workshop, and it is so much fun!

Right now, we are back in virtual learning, which is kind of difficult when 24 girls want to access internet at the same time. So we go step by step.

We are still going strong in our cooking and selling “alfajores” and “budines”. Our girls cook them themselves, and then go out and sell them. This is giving them some tools that will come in handy when they leave the home and must be self sufficient.

We have a weekend trip still to enjoy, a volunteer that visits the Home often has invited our girls to Zarate, which is 2 hours away, close to the river. We will be able to ride on horse back, go fishing, and just relax. We will head there as soon as lock down is lifted. Lets hope this happens soon.

Vaccination in Argentina is still scarce. We are hoping the girls care takers can get vaccinated so that we can secure the best care for our girls, without running any risks.

Thank you for helping us help these girls!

María