MENSAJEROS DE LA PAZ ASSOCIATION
Our Association is an NGO (non-governmental organization) that was founded in Spain by Father Ángel García Rodríguez in 1962. It currently participates in more than 30 countries, including Argentina.
History and Evolution of our NGO
Mensajeros de la Paz Argentina was created in 2002 during the grave socioeconomic crisis that was suffered by the Argentine Nation. Its purpose was to respond to the vast necessities of a large part of the population. In the beginning, the organization focused on the receipt and delivery of humanitarian aid that was received from abroad. This is how more than 800 tons of food and medication helped thousands of people in various provinces.
In 2003, without detriment to the continuation of emergency aid programs, the organization began to implement programs aimed at improving the living conditions of at-risk children and adolescents. In addition, it initiated programs for senior citizens that include the opening of adult daycare centers and residences for senior citizens that are in living in homelessness and/or situations of social risk.
The working philosophy of the organization has evolved from an initial focus on emergency humanitarian aid to its current policy of development. Today, all of the programs and projects seek the social reintegration of the targeted populations, thereby stimulating the participation of beneficiaries in their own development.
Testimonies from The Center for homeless children "La Balsa"
Eliel
A letter from ElielI arrived at "La Balsa" lost and sad. I was begging on the streets and I couldn’t see how to
get out. I was tired of it. Tired of all the things that happened and so much more.
I was always on my guard – because that is how we live in the streets. When I went to "La
Balsa" the people there, or at least the people I met, despite their limits, they were full of joy
and showed me you can have a dream. A little dream that will help you through life. They
mainly showed me that I am able to do things and that there will be hard things you have to
work against, but in the end you can win. But you have to make things happen for yourself.
I don’t know when I learned it. I learned to no longer feel sorry for myself and I started to
accept help. Like the help I got when I went to "La Balsa". I also learned who I am: with
concrete projects, with a job, and with my identification document. I am becoming myself.
Thank you, all!
Eliel
Ariel
"My name is Ariel. Ever since I arrived at the institution, I’ve felt very much at ease. I got
on very well with the day and night centers’ coordinators. La Balsa is helping me get a ticket
to return to my home in San Juan: I always want to do new things and strive to get
through. I learned something I will never forget, which is the good people who work in this
place. Thanks!"
Ariel
Testimonies from Day Care Center por Elderly People "Santa Ana y San Joaquín"
Herminio Maldonado
"When I was 71 years old I started to learn how to use a computer. Now I’m 73 and was
appointed assistant to the teachers to help with the training of elderly adults. Life gives you
surprises; surprises are what life gives you!"
Herminio Maldonado
Juan Carlos Gómez
"I would like to say `Thank you, thank you very much´ to Hogar Santa Ana y San Joaquin,
from Mensajeros de la Paz, for having placed me in a preponderant place in society. I entered
the world of culture and knowledge through the library, which has changed my life! So much
that I am currently attending a course to be a bibliotecology assistant."
Juan Carlos Gómez
Irma Hernández
"After suffering from a C.V.A., I felt like an automat and had no memory. Now I am surprised
at everything I’ve learned and everything I’ve been doing since I attend this Hogar… I narrated
stories in a primary school, participated in plays, I’m learning how to use a computer, I
recalled a lot of mathematics and Spanish language concepts I had forgotten… and at 88 I feel
fantastic!"
Irma Hernández
Testimonies from Residential Home for Adolescents and young mothers "Nuestra Señora de la Gracia" - "PASOS" program
Karina Cosco-Programa PASOS
"
Karen and Camila,daughters of my heart"
We took the decision of adopting after trying to get pregnant without success for 8 years. I
knew, since I was an adolescent that the chances of adopting were scarce, but one always
fosters some hope..
When we went to the court of our district (Lomas de Zamora) and enrolled in the candidates
list, we expected this process to take a little long, but never… 10 years!, which was what
everyone in our situation was experiencing. We also enrolled in the candidates list in the
interior of the country, but bureaucracy always discouraged us in the same way: with
disillusion and hopelessness. The wait was killing us; we did not know what else to do. In
October 2009 we approached the Hogar Nuestra Señora de la Gracia, in Longchamps, to be a
foster parent for a child.. We had been explained about the program to do so and, when we
told them about our experience, the directors of the institution agreed that Karen (now 8 years
old) and Camila (now 7 years old) were the children of our heart that we were looking for.
Our house was so quiet and our arms with such a necessity to hug lovingly, that the possibility
of meeting them already made us be over the moon. We were explained that at the beginning
we were going to be with them only at weekends and, though it wasn’t much, this possibility
filled us with joy anyway. So many postponed fantasies were about to come true!
We prepared to receive them and when we faced them for the first time, we got scared stiff
at the future that was ahead of us: Would we be able to be good parents? Would they want
to be with us? What would happen later? In spite of all our insecurities, we did our best for
them to be fine, and though it was not so easy at the beginning, Karen and Camila started
to show us that they did want to be part of our family. Two months from then, they asked to
visit us whenever they did not have classes, and little by little started to ask us if we had any
children, if we wished to adopt them, to start with the legal process in court, what paperwork
we needed, if the papers they saw scattered on the street were useful… For Cami even the
alfajor papers scattered on the pavement were useful to join us definitively!
We had such a good time when we were together that the days we were apart seemed
eternal... Finally, in May 2010, the Home informed us that we had to attend the court for a
series of interviews to assess our adoption request. The four of us were happy but also very
nervous: the possibility of reaching the summit was… one step away!
And on August 28 the miracle occurred. We were
“officially informed that we were accepted as
the girls’ adoptive family.”We wept with emotion and joy and could not stop
shouting
“We are the happiest family in the world!” We thanked God for finding Karen and
Camila, for getting in their ways and for them getting in ours.
Today we live together like any ordinary family. Our relationship has had hits and misses, but
with such great love among them that it enables us to go on like this, always. Of course it is
not easy to adopt because it is not easy to assemble 4 lives that did not know each other since
they were born. But the challenge is wonderful and is worth experiencing it. Wasn’t it easier
to adopt newborn children instead of grown-up ones? It may be true that one does not miss
anything from their lives that way, there are no emotional gaps left unknown, but there are
so many years of life ahead to share, that that is only a spot in the universe of happiness and
love which means to be able to make that precious wish of
being parents come true.”
Karina Cosco
Testimonies from Residential Home "San José"
Carmela
“My name is Carmela. I’ve attended Mensajeros de la Paz’s Hogar San José for 12 years. I am
very happy and grateful. I feel at ease, the Hogar has brought back joy to me, it is my home.”
Carmela
