SACS "Send a Child to School"

SACS "Send a Child to School"

I have found that one of the keys to my happiness of living in a foreign county is finding something worthwhile to keep myself busy. I wish I was as altruistic as I sound!! I enjoy having lunch with girlfriends, going to the lovely gym at the
Four Seasons Hotel, enjoying a pedicure or a massage but its not quite enough.

Living overseas for so many years with stops in Thailand, Peru, Ecuador, India and now Argentina, I realize how incredibly privileged we are. I am not saying that there are not problems in North America. Of course there are but there is also a bit of a safety net. Not a perfect one without holes but a shadow of help for those who need it. In many other countries there is no assistance to be had. There is a great need in all the countries outside of North America (USA and Canada) that we have lived and Argentina is no exception.

My calling here is SACS (Send A Child to School). It is a group of volunteers that I have the privilege to be part of. I serve on the Board that consists of 9 members at the moment with room for more. One of the joys of this lifestyle is that new people enter your life frequently. One of the sorrows is that dear friends leave when you are nowhere near ready to say good bye to them. For this reason we are at 9 instead of 12. (soon to be 8 as one of us goes to Russia) Our current Board represent the USA, Canada, England, India and Argentina. Our goal is to provide a backpack with the supplies they need to begin the school year. Paper, Pencils and notebooks as well as shoes, socks, labcoats (Argentine school uniform) and of course a the backpack itself to take to school. This year we will be able to outfit 1018 children. This takes both time and money!!

Since the school year begins in March, 2010 in the Southern Hemisphere we are entering our busiest time. We have already unpacked and re-packed over 500 pairs of shoes and packed over 1000 pencil cases. By the end of January we will unpack another 518 pairs of shoes and ultimately fill the backpacks ready for the children. This is no small endeavor. It takes lots of time and lots of volunteers to accomplish this. In the coming week will will pack things up with the grade appropriate supplies. We will then put the child's name in it and place it in a big bag ready for delivery in the later part of February.
Finally we go to the school, church group or homework center and meet our kids. This becomes an occasion for the whole family and we all have a great time. Below you see a wonderful women who runs one of the centers. She brings her own small daughter with her so she can devote her afternoons to the children. As you can see, they adore her. The little poppet with her is a girl just beginning Jardin. (kindergarten) They wear a special lab coat in either pink or blue. She had just told us she had never expected to own a new one and insisted on putting it on right away!



During this busy packing time we also begin our first fundraiser for the 2011 school year. Yes.........we are a group of planners! Our first event is January 28, 2010 but im afraid that is another entry all together!!