Until Next Year!

Merry Christmas!!

Bethlehem in Puerto Azara

PINGUELAS CIVIL ASSOCIATION

CHRISTMAS 2007
BETHLEHEM IN PUERTO AZARA

We invite you to share Christmas with a family of the locality of Puerto Azara.

The idea is that each family that decides to collaborate helps a particular family, with a box of Christmas Treats for their table and a message of joy and hope for the holydays.

The preparation of the box requires just to open and predispose your heart, putting yourselves in the shoes of the family that recieves it.

We are not looking for this to be a help with food, but that these families, within their rough reality, receive this box as a message of faith and hope and that they get to feel special in a way. It is important to decorate the box and to enclose holyday cards, messages or drawings made by your kids.

Let's become aware of the fact that joining in this proyect means a commitment with a particular family that will be expecting our help. That's why we ask you only to join the project if youi are sure that you will be able to deliver the box.

We suggest the following content: "pan dulce", pudding, nougat candy, sodas, candy.

Boxes should be delivered until friday, december 21 in Pinguelas (Estado de Israel 2840, Posadas, Misiones, Argentina)

Contact Details:
Phone: +54 03752 15 741739
E-Mail: a.pinguelas@gmail.com

THANK YOU VERY MUCH!!
MERRY CHRISTMAS

This is the leaflet we distributed among neighbours

Silkworm Breeding Workshop

Puerto Azara's Neighbours Interested in Silkworm Breeding Meeting in Alicia Suárez's House

Don Humberto


The girls reading informative brochures


María and Miguel


Workshop's Closure

Blog Action Day

Today, on the Blog Action Day, more than 10.000 bloggers from around the world unite to put a single important issue on everyone’s mind - the environment. The climate change is one of the major challenges we are up to, and it's because of that that we need to make a global effort, from the bigger organizations to each one of the bloggers, to try to stop or revert its effects.

We want to save 200 hectares of native forest in Puerto Azara in order to turn them into a natural reservoir, but the municipal authorities don't agree and are creating difficulties, as they started to give these pieces of land to particulars who are destroying them.

Puerto Azara's inhabitants, along with Pinguelas Association and Marcial de Lorenzana Foundation support, are hard standing and fighting not to lose what it's theirs and they love: their land.

VIII National Meeting on Sericulture

VII NATIONAL MEETING ON SERICULTURE

Programme

Friday, November 2, 2007

- Opening

- Red Argentina de la Seda: Synthesis of the work so far

- Biological aspects on the production of natural silk
(FCEQyN - UNaM General Ecology Department)

- Caracterization of silk yarns - INTI's role / Textile on Textile Industry
(Ing. Carlos Enciso - INTI)

- Different organizative experiences on sericulture
(Ing. Francisco Pescio)

- Round Table: Craft-Production of Natural Silk
Locality of Carmen, Jujuy: their experience (Miriam and Antonio Arce)
Realicó, La Pampa: Promoting the production of silk (Susana Villegas)
Paraguay: Craft-handling of the fibers

- "Sustainable Production of Silk in Los Sarmientos, Tucumán Province" Proyect
(Ing. Julio César Barrionuevo)

- Sericulture in Paraguay
(Lic. Laura Garay Farías, Sr. Ubaldo Villalba Torres, Seda y Fibras Company)


Saturday, November 3, 2007

- Capacitation in Italy Report
(Red Argentina de la Seda)

- Argentinean participation in Red Andina
(Ing. Patricia Marino - INTI)

- Technological innovations
(Ing. Enrique Turano)

- Red Argentina de la Seda Meeting

Puerto Azara School made the front page of Primera Edición newspaper

Marcial de Lorenzana Institute from Puerto Azara made the front page of last Friday's edition of Posadas' "Primera Edición" paper.

Facing the Mayor's denial to supply the solicited lands to build the school in it's own piece of land, create a natural reservoir and develop sustainable productive projects for the community, the citizens mobilized in support to Marcial de Lorenzana Foundation.

Pinguelas Association, as part of the team which gave impulse to this project, embraces all of the aspects of the actions taken by Puerto Azara community and Marcial de Lorenzana Foundation.

Silkworm Breeding

Within the framework of our Silkworm Breeding Proyect in Puerto Azara, Pinguelas has turned in to the Australian Embassy in Argentina an application for financing, regarding the DAP Programme they are carrying.

The proyect was aproved by the Embasy's Evaluation Committee, and it will allow the construction of a Communal Breeding Room.

We are all very happy!!!

MARÍA ALVEZ

María Alvez…
She’s the woman who inspired us to name the organization as “Pinguelas”…
She’s Puerto Azara’s nurse, the permanent contact we have with the community…
She’s an amazing woman, who is always thinking about how to help others, what do the kids, mothers, families and schools need.
The kids that now go to Marcial de Lorenzana School were born in her hands, as well as almost every other kid. And if not, at least she helped during the birth.

María is like the cube in the image: for wherever you look at her, she is still herself… always MARÍA, “aunt María” as the kids call her.

Be strong, María!!!
Who know you - a lot of people and in fact the ones that really matter- know who you really are…

PRODUCTIVE DEVELOPMENTS FOR PUERTO AZARA COMMUNITY

When we started working in Puerto Azara we had two main ideas:
Firstly, setting up the secondary school for the kids of the community, which we could achieve in the required times; and secondly, to create and support some productive developments for their moms and dads.
These were conceived as alternatives for their unique source of income: the harvest of yerba mate.

We have been working for almost a year and after a lot of meetings, talks, market search and technical and professional consulting we put together twelve projects.

This week we start breeding silkworms and yateí bees.

THANK YOU!!!

Pinguelas is formed by a handful of people convinced that by joining forces and with solidarity it’s possible to do beautiful things.

Children’s Day party at Puerto Azara shows it is possible.
Thanks to a lot of good-hearted people we did it, and we did it our way, giving the kids the best.
In Pinguelas the work is voluntary. Pinguelas IS because of its volunteers.
To all of them…

THANK YOU!!!!!!!

BALL PITS!!!

The kids loved them!!
They couldn’t be missing at the party.
Thanks to donations made by Mercedes, from Buenos Aires, and Bárbara and Alejandro, from Posadas, we could hire “Bianca Inflables”.
Bianca and her team travelled to Puerto Azara and offered us an excellent service!
The kids enjoyed themselves very much.
Thanks, Mechi, Barabara and Ale!!!

SNEAKERS!!!

The “Mujeres Mercosureñas” Association, via Itatí Juañuk,wanted to be part of the party and they did it by donating 50 pairs of sneakers we raffled among the kids during the whole afternoon.
Thank you very much!!!

CANDY!!!

Thanks to Dalina, Matías, Tomás, Carolina, Melisa and Celeste for the delicious sweets they send all the way from Buenos Aires for the kids!!!!
We divided them among the gift packs and left some for the clowns to give to the kids during the games.

DELICIOUS HOT CHOCOLATE!!!

Thanks to Raúl for donating the chocolate, milk and sugar for the kids.
Thanks to Alicia and María for preparing it too.
It was pleasant-tasting and everyone could drink as much as they wanted to!

PRESENTS FOR EVERYBODY!!!

We wanted to give the kids new and nice toys, one for each… but they were too many! 150! That turned out to be 157. How could we get the money to do it??

Thanks to “Puentes” Civil Association of Buenos Aires, each kid could have his present!

Beautiful toys, chosen one by one by Carolina and Sara, according to ages, for boys and girls that arrived from Buenos Aires in 16 boxes Alejandro took to Puerto Azara on Saturday and wouldn’t let Malvina, Marías daughter, sleep. “What’s inside? Are they toys, mom?”, she said.

The following day, Pinguelas volunteers wrapped and named each one of them. At dusk we gave them out together with the gift packs. The kid’s anxiety to hear their names called out and to recieve their present is something we won’t forget that easily. Their little faces of joy as they saw their toys are indelible memories.
We are sure that 157 pieces of love have reached that generous heart that made it possible.


“Puentes” Association
“… it’s a NGO of public welfare, a non-profit organization, apolitic and lay created in 1996 in Argentina. Our headquarters are located in Buenos Aires but our influence zone is Gran Buenos Aires and the interior of the country. We are united by the mission of improving the opportunities of development of the kids and young people of low resources, facilitating the access to education and crating the bases for a better community.”

http://puentes.com.ar

Tank you SO much!!!

These are some of the pictures of that day, as we receive more, we will upload them:

CAKES, CLOWNS, BALOONS, GAMES

Bárbara Sciangula and her students from “Alma Nativa” Dance School.

They helped prepare the gift packs for the candy and the delicious cakes. They were the clowns that organized all the games and the ones who made us laugh from the morning until we came back to Posadas, late at night.

A beautiful group of people, very supportive, that know about grief but are always with a smile on their faces, a joke at hand, a gesture of friendship…

They played, singed and danced with the kids, with the grown-ups, among them…
They are incredible!!!

Their names?
Bárbara Sciangula, the director, María Belèn Marmelik, Magdalena Marmelik, Ester Isasa, Patricia Temoinko, Adolfo Carísimo Leublain, Héctor Stuker, Diego Benítez Colman, Diego Oviedo, Fernando Del Valle.

Congratulations to all of you!!!
And thank you very very much!!!

THE CIRCUS

The kids from “Opó Ibaté” Circus School are amazing!!!!

They were the first to say “we are going!” and the problem was where to hang the trapeze and silk. Some days before Sunday, Alejandro took us there so that Gonzalo Velasco, the school director, could decide which was the best place to do it… and he found it: the trees from the beautiful school park.

On Sunday, we travelled to Puerto Azara all squeezed inside Alejandro’s Traffic, they put up their scenography and the show was spectacular!

Their names?

Gonzalo Velasco, director, Norma Tolaba, Lorena Castrillo, Pamela Suárez, Micaela Morán, Constanza Yudar, Agustina Gunski y Lucas Gunski.

To all of them a huge THANK YOU!!!!

http://fotolog.com/oyere_ybate

As we receive more photos we will upload them… these are just a few of them:

THE MAGICIANS

When we decided to organize this party for the kids from Puerto Azara, we aimed to take them the best among our possibilities.
The “Red de Magos Solidarios de Argentina” it’s one of the organizations who helped us make it come true.

Next, we reproduce the words on their webpage, as it perfectly describes the beautiful work they make.

“The Red de Magos Solidarios or Red Maso is an enterprise that puts the art of magic at he service of the ones who need it most. Magic is illusion, for a kid or an adult the magician is something enchanted, and even more if we achieve with solidarity a double function, which is help and spread our beloved art while delighting the audience.”

“Today, the Red Maso, thanks to the effort of all the magicians that wholeheartedly helped to make it possible, it’s set up and working firmly to achieve it’s goals. The Net is composed by numerous members that day by day provide their time and talent to make our deed grow. The members come from diverse provinces of Argentina, as well as from different countries from arround the world.”

On Sunday, at two o’ clock sharp, magicians DIMAR and MAKENKE started their show, a beautiful spectacle!! It was an hour of laughs, joy, magic...
The faces of the kids say it all.

Congratulations to the Red Maso!!!
Thank you very much, Dimar and Makenke!!!
See you soon!

AND THE DAY HAS COMED...

THANK YOU!!!!!!!

To everyone that made this beautiful day possible!!
Magicians from “La Red De Magos Solidarios”, circus school “Opó Ibaté”, Dance School “Alma Nativa”, “Puentes” Civil Association from Buenos Aires, “Pinguelas” volunteers, “Mujeres Mercosureñas” Association, the friends who donated money, chocolate, milk, sugar, candy, cakes, cookies, the ones who fowared the e-mails to their contacts, Alejandro, who took us and brought us back in his Traffic, María and Alicia who prepared the chocolate for the kids and lunch for all the volunteers, “Bianca Inflables”... to everyone.

Today, this few photos. On the following days we will dedicate a post to each of the ones who made the party the kids from Puerto Azara deserved come true.

INVITATIONS DAY!!!

This morning we went to Puerto Azara to take the invitations we made for the kids.
There was one for each kid and seeing the joy in their little faces as we gave them out was a gift for us.
There is still a lot of work to be done before Sunday... but it’s worth it.

CHILDREN'S DAY AT PUERTO AZARA!

Pinguelas has decided to celebrate children’s day with the kids of Puerto Azara.
The activities will take place in school Nº 63, attended by children from preschool up to the seventh grade of EGB2. The place was chosen because of the location, infrastructure and because it is a significant place for them and their families.

The number of kids that will benefit from this proposal is of 150, comprising all of the children from 0 to 12 years old of the community.

Up to the moment, the following have committed to collaborate:
“Opó Ybaté” Circus School - Posadas
Red de Magos Solidarios de Argentina
“Dar a Luz” Association - Posadas
“Marcial de Lorenzana” Foundation

The proposal consists of the following activities:

Sunday 5th of August

Starting time: 14.00 hs

- Welcoming and reception of kids by Pinguela’s and Circus School’s volunteers.
- Organization of groups among the kids, differentiating them by colours.
- There will be volunteers in charge of each of the groups in order to guide and coordinate the activities, consisting of games according to each age group
- The circus sketchs last 5/6 minutes each (trapeze, juggling, silk, swing) and there will be two stilt walkers during the whole spectacle.
- Magic Acts for all ages.
- Puppet Shows for children up to eight years old and from nine to twelve years old.
- Sharing out of gift packs made by Marcial de Lorenzana’s students.
- For snacktime , traditional hot chocolate will be served, along with a variety of snaks.
- A toy will be given to each kid.
- Light and Fire spectacle by the circus school.

Closing time: 18.00 hs

We need:
- Willing volunteers with lots of spirit to entertain and play with the kids.
- Ball pits and other playground equipment for the little ones.
- Candy.
- Chocolate, milk and sugar.
- Balloons.
- Cotillion.
- New toys.
- …and whatever you can think of that can bring the kids joy!


WE HOPE FOR YOUR HELP!!!
THANK YOU!!!!!!!!

Contact: a.pinguelas@gmail.com

Being A Pinguela...

There are times in life

when we are called to be bridges,

not a great monument spanning a distance

and carrying loads of heavy traffic,

but a simple bridge to help one person from here to there

over some difficulty

such as pain, grief, fear, loneliness,

a bridge which opens the way

for ongoing journey.

When I become a bridge for another,

I bring upon myself a blessing,

for I escape from the small prison of self

and exist for a wider world,

breaking out to be a larger being

who can enter another's pain

and rejoice in another's triumph.

Joy Cowley