Last week, Voluntario Global had the pleasure of delivering a charitable donation to one of our kindergartens in Suárez—a donation made possible by the gracious efforts of Milhouse Hostel manager, Mariano. Upon arrival, Liliana, one of the kindergarten’s founders, led us down the street to an empty lot containing the bare bones of construction. Thanks to fundraising efforts like Mariano’s, we can help this small plot of land will soon become home to a new-and-improved kindergarten.

Before this recent development, Liliana and her colleagues had been renting out their former locality for the duration of a whopping seven years.  Throughout the school year, the kindergarten / day care center typically fosters around sixty children, ranging from eight-month-old babies, to five-year-old youngsters.  Their doors stay open for a daily stretch of eight hours, as opposed to the three or four-hour days customary to most kindergartens.  These extended hours function in providing much-needed relief for numerous single mothers in the area, majority of whom must endure long and tiring work days in order to provide for their families.  Liliana looks to this oncoming chapter with a mixture of emotions: fear that the facilities might not be ready in time, pride in finally having a spot to call their own, and an unavoidable nostalgia for leaving behind a place that has enabled their growth up to this point. 

If all goes as planned, the kindergarten should be up and running by the end of February. Voluntario Global salutes the hard work and dedication of those who have contributed to this wonderful endeavor.