Why this Project?

The Arco Iris Community Center struggles to live up to its potential.

For the past twenty years, this center has served families in a poverty-stricken neighborhood of Villa Elisa, Argentina. Each day Arco Iris provides over 90 children with two meals along with educational and social activities outside of school. The center also supports microenterprise development, such as baking and sewing cooperatives, run by community members. A source of hope, inspiration, and opportunities, Arco Iris makes the best of limited resources while facing constant challenges.

Arco Iris´ lack of security is the principal challenge that hinders its growth and expansion. At night, youth drink and participate in high-risk activities in the unprotected, trash-filled, and weed-infested yard surrounding the community center; during the day, overgrown grass hides broken beer bottles and drug paraphernalia. Dogs roam the area where the children play, bringing in garbage and disease. Without an enclosure-a protective secure fence-vandalism and wandering neighborhood animals prevent the community center from creating a garden that could supply the children with fresh produce. Underutilized, contaminated, and dangerous, Arco Iris’ yard exists as a constant reminder that the center currently lacks the infrastructure and resources to serve the community to the best of its ability.

A well constructed fence would provide Arco Iris with the security to create a soccer field, playground, garden, and other community-based development projects. It would also ensure the ongoing success of its sewing and baking cooperatives. A fence, while exceedingly simple, is an important step for a rural community to build a more sustainable future.