Art Class is Making Waves

The Thursday morning art class, part of an agreement between the Adolescent Program of the City of Buenos Aires and Centro Conviven has been hard at work designing a project that will beautify some of the indoor and outdoor spaces in the house. Centro Conviven already has some art on its walls in the classrooms, but the upstairs area is mostly bare of any decorations. The class started out with smaller drawings to decorate their classroom but the students found themselves looking for another way to express themselves. The larger mural-sized projects are a perfect outlet for these teenagers to show off their drawing skills, as well as practice teamwork as they design, draw and paint the decorations as a group.

Upstairs in the house there is a meeting room that serves as a classroom, two classrooms with desks and chalkboards, and a computer room that contains 12 computers. In the middle of these rooms is a large space with a library that has little to no decoration on the walls, as you can see in the photo below.

The students in the art class are setting out to change this, however. They have envisioned a beautiful ocean scene on tiles that will be placed above the shelves of the library. The photos below are the beginnings of their work on that part of the mural. 

Other projects are individual drawings that the students have made that will painted directly on the wall, and other surprises that you will have to come back to the blog to see the final product. Or, as a volunteer at Conviven you will have the opportunity to see these decorations a few times a week! 

Check back soon to see what else the students at Conviven have been up to!

Conviven Timetable

As of October 2012, the volunteers currently at the center run classes on the following schedule.

• On Mondays and Thursdays at 3.30 and 4.30 PM: English classes for children in primary school children.
• On Tuesday and Thursday mornings at 10 and 11 AM: academic support in English for a small group of middle school aged children.
• Mondays and Thursdays from 2:30 to 3:30 PM: art classes for primary school children
• Thursdays from 2:30 to 3:30 PM: music classes for primary school children
  

We will also be starting a sports program on Wednesdays. Each class has between 6 and 12 children, depending on the day and time.

We are always happy to start new classes if someone comes with good ideas and is willing to run and organise the class. Continuity in terms of timing usually makes organization easier, especially for bringing in students, so we encourage volunteers to work around the schedule we have already set up. We ask that anyone who would like to teach a class be able to commit to Conviven for at least three months in order to be able to develop a relationship with the children.

The center has many other things going on like photography, computer classes, mirco banking and music lesson. These are all run by long term volunteers or teachers at the center, but if you are interested in working with any of these subjects please let our volunteer coordinator know and we would be happy to have your help. See our article on what you can do at Conviven if you would like to see what else you can get involved in.

How to contact us?

Address: Martiniano Leguizamón 2974; Buenos Aires CABA. (Villa Lugano/Mataderos)
Telephone: +54 0 11 4686 5995
E-mail: centroconvivenba@gmail.com
For volunteers
On-site volunteer coordinator: Hannah Milton
E-mail: volunteersconviven@gmail.com

How to get to Conviven:Centro Conviven - Villa Lugano/Mataderos (main centre)
Bus-lines 80-97-103-117-141.

You should get off at Avenida Eva Peron 6000. There is a YPF station on the corner. Go to the cafe of the station, call Conviven and someone will come to pick you up. Here is a map:
Centro Conviven - Isidro Casanova (new centre)

Bus-lines 49-180.
Take either the 49 (1.75 pesos) or the 180 (3 pesos) bus from Primera Junta subte stop (Linea A). The bus journey will take approximately an hour. After about 45 minutes, the bus will drive over two level crossings. Note that the 180 bus goes on the motorway and is faster.

You should get off at Peribuy 6000, on the crossroad with Av Cristiania. On your right, looking down Av Cristiania there is a “Locutorio” telephone centre. You can wait in the Locuturio centre and call Conviven and someone will come to pick you up. Here’s a map:

Now we have a Facebook!

Now we have facebook! Add us on facebook and you can find out more about what we are doing and see pictures.

http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100002521826639

Eleanor M. from Australia, June 2010

Originally written in Spanish on July 8, 2010. Volunteer translation by Joelle Bouchard, former Spanish teacher in Houston, Texas, USA.

Here I want to be honest about my experience as a volunteer at Conviven.

The truth is I was mistaken about what it would be. When I decided to stay in Buenos Aires, I had planned to participate in some kind of project, but it was very complicated: I found a lot of organizations that wanted to provide an experience for tourists or exploit one's desire to help for capitalist means. After having spent a lot of time searching for a good organization I gave up. I shouldn't have done it. The worst thing is that at one point, I had entered Conviven's web page, but rejected it when I saw that it was a religious organization. Upon seeing that I thought “No, not that. I don't want to participate in a project that exploits people's weakness in order to impose certain values.” From that moment on I dedicated myself to my studies and enjoyed the process. However, I somehow felt empty. One Saturday in May, I read an article about the work that Conviven does in Ciudad Oculta. They seemed so dedicated in helping those less fortunate that I decided to put my prejudices aside and get involved with the Center. I didn't look back.

My experience working with Conviven, although it was only during a short time, forms the most powerful memories of those gained during my stay in Argentina. In the first place, that experience rid me of the idea that Argentina was not a poor country. It is. It could be that the poverty is not as apparent as it is in Bolivia, Guatemala, or Paraguay. But hidden poverty is poverty nonetheless. In addition, I realized that an individual can have a positive impact on the life of another human being. It's not enough to talk about changing the system – it's the little steps that also help. The children with whom I worked were so good and they had so much drive to learn, and I feel very privileged to help bring out their potential. Finally, the experience inspired me. I am a law student and I always wanted to work with human rights issues. However, for the first time I realize that I can use the knowledge that I already have to help now, I don't have to wait until I graduate. Because of that, I'm offering my services, free of charge, to centers here in Australia that offer legal services to marginalized individuals.

I recommend to whoever finds the project, to get involved. I want Conviven to have all the luck in the world.

Advice From a Departed Volunteer

Originally written in Spanish on September 9, 2008. Volunteer translation by Joelle Bouchard, former Spanish teacher in Houston, TX, USA.

I had the good fortune of spending five months at Conviven. They were five unforgettable months. They could have been boring, I could have not learned anything, but it wasn't like that. It wasn't like that becaue that's not how I wanted it to be. I spent a lot of time working for Conviven, preparing classes, thinking about what would be interesting to contribute...Because I think that is something that one has to do to really learn from this opportunity of being a volunteer in another part of the world. Commit oneself. In order to gain the confidence of the children and of the other volunteers at the Center, to learn even more from them then they learn from us...

I could have done a lot more, but no less. Because if I would have done less I wouldn't have felt so proud seeing my students enjoying their classes, I wouldn't have been able to establish such a good relationship with the people that were essential during my stay in Buenos Aires, like Carmen and my little students.

Participating in this program gives us the chance to meet special people, to have unforgettable experiences and I think that one should not bypass this opportunity supposedly because of a “lack of time.” Each of these children is special, although to realize this one must first gain their confidence and their interest because surely at this age, at times, the students aren't interested in learning English, or any other subject, but surely, that is the work of the “teachers!”

Well, that is the advice I want to give to future “teachers”: Have patience and imagination because these children are worth it! There are many interesting things to do with them beyond English classes but one must have a lot of desire to do so because it's not always easy to organize oneself.

Good luck and I hope you enjoy your experience as much as I enjoyed my stay in Buenos Aires, and above all at Conviven!

Marie, from France

Summer Activities

Although rain threatened our activities on Tuesday and Wednesday, many children and volunteers still showed up to play some games and have some fun! Tuesday we gathered in the center and played some games, including: stick in the mud, musical chairs, fruit salad, and many more. A few volunteers created a game of Twister for the children (and volunteers!) to play using an old sheet and sponge painted on the colored circles. It became a learning experience for both volunteers and the children, as volunteers with minimal Spanish (me) learned through the kids helping out, and vice versa, when the game was played in English. I now have no excuse for not knowing the difference from my left and right in Spanish! Other activities included hopscotch, after which everyone gathered together to put paint on their hands and leave a print on a sheet next to everyone’s names. In addition we did face painting with the children and the volunteers then received some face painting of our own. After the children left that day a few volunteers stayed to celebrate Carmen’s birthday and eat a delicious cake prepared by Angie! Happy Birthday Carmen!! Thank you for all of your help and for always feeding us!

Wednesday we were all excited to travel to Buenos Aires playa, however there was a last minute change of plans due to unexpected rainfall. Even so, many kids showed up at the center, so we all stayed indoors and played various games. Everyone was pretty antsy to get outside, so luckily on Thursday we were able to go to the park and release some energy! The park is about a twenty-minute walk from the center and has an open space to play games and swings with a playground structure for the kids to climb on. We split into teams to play some futbol and a sort of rugby-American football hybrid creation. Before leaving the park we attempted to spell Conviven using our bodies for letters, this was entirely unsuccessful, however we did get some funny photos from it!

Actividades de Verano (8t-11 de Febrero)
Aunque la lluvia amenazó las actividades el martes y el miércoles, muchos chicos y muchos voluntarios aparecieron en el centro para jugar y divertirse. El martes jugamos muchos juegos como: la mancha, las sillas musicales, la ensalada de fruta e mucho más. Algunos voluntarios hicieron un juego de Twister para los chicos (y los voluntarios!) jugaron, con sábanas viejas donde se pintaron círculos coloridos. Este juego fue una aprendizaje para los voluntarios y para los chicos, los voluntarios que no sabían español aprenderán con las instrucciones de los chicos y vive versa, cuando el juego se hacía en inglés. Ahora, yo no tengo ninguna disculpa para no saber cuál es la derecha y la izquierda en español. Jugamos a “hopscotch” y después pintamos nuestras manos y presionamos en una sábana, donde escribimos nuestros nombres. También pintamos los rostros de los chicos que después pintaron los de los voluntarios. Después de los chicos salieron algunos de los voluntarios se quedaron en Conviven para festejar el cumpleaños de Carmen y comer la torta riquísima que Angie preparo! Feliz cumpleaños Carmen!! Gracias por toda la ayuda y por darnos comida!

El miércoles estábamos todos entusiasmados para viajar hasta Buenos Aires Playa, pero empezó a llover y tuvimos que cancelar. Por otro lado muchos chicos vinieron a Conviven y nos quedamos en el centro para más un día de actividades con muchos juegos. El jueves pudimos ir al parque y libertar la energía! El Parque se queda 20 minutos del centro Conviven y tiene espacio para jugar y “swings” donde se puede trepar. Hicimos equipos para jugar el futbol y algo parecido con una combinación de rugby y futbol americano. Antes de irnos intentamos escribir la palabra Conviven con nuestros cuerpos, pero aunque no lo conseguimos hacer, sacamos fotos muy divertidas al intentarlo.