INFORMATION ABOUT OUR ARTS AND COMMUNITY SERVICE PROGRAM

GENERAL INFORMATION ABOUT OUR ARTS AND COMMUNITY SERVICE PROGRAM:
Arts, Community Service, Culture, Ecology and Fun in Argentina.
July 5 - August 10, 2007

Our Summer program enjoys four main unique characteristics:

1. ARTS: creative work, workshops in local arts and crafts, street performances, visits to museums, meetings with artists and performers, street fairs, joint work with Indigenous and shanty-dwellers.

2. COMMUNITY SERVICE: It is a program centered on community service and solidarity work on behalf of needy communities in Buenos Aires. Young people from the US working together with other kids from the host communities to help the in Argentina.

3. CULTURE: It offer a rare opportunity to visit in an organized and methodic way with age-old Indigenous, Gauchos and other Argentinean communities.

4. ECOLOGY: It will take the campers into some of the most exciting and wonderful natural wonders of Southern America.

And let's not forget FUN. Plenty of activities that are fun, entertainment, sports, music, dance and friendship..

In addition to that, we know from past experience and the letters of recommendation we write, that our community service program can help enhance the eligibility profile of students applying to top and elite universities.

The Arts and Community Service Program’s Mission:

The principal idea behind our travel program is to offer kids the opportunity to spend a meaningful and important Summer experience. Our program is a time for "applied" art and community service work. Community service is combined with fun, learning, education, and with a variety of other activities related to culture, ecology and socializing. There is also a great deal of “fun” built in.

The ecology of the regions we will be traveling to are beyond compare, and the cultural richness of our local Gaucho, Indigenous, peasant and others communities is magnificent and inspiring.

We will have workshops run by local people in arts and crafts, Indigenous jewelry making and archeology. We will study the history of the multi-cultural migrations to the Spanish speaking world. We will learn their music, observe their dances and participate in many other enjoyable activities. We will have Spanish classes and Tango lessons taught by local performers.

Our program takes the kids into the hearth of the community to aid the needy and accompany the elderly. We will also visit impoverished neighbors in villages and cities, as well as engage in other forms of aid to those who are being assisted by local NGOs. Part of this program is to expose the students to the marvels and intricacies of organizing solidarity aid on a transnational basis.

Supervision: A Note to Parents and Students:

Our Summer program is educational and service-oriented in nature and in character. What this means is that participants are required to sign a code of ethics and behavior. We expect and will enforce a proper behavior and a right attitude throughout the entire trip. We will have with us counselors and teachers who will accompany the group throughout the entire trip and who will be responsible for assisting with all aspects related to the content of the program. Participants should anticipate that supervision will be taken very seriously. The health, welfare, safety and well being of the students is our paramount responsibility.

With regards to the use of alcohol, tobacco, drugs or other inappropriate behavior, our program will implement a zero tolerance policy. No behavior unbecoming a young person concerned with the arts and community service will be tolerated. This applies to relations between the students and the staff, the students amongst themselves, and the students and the people we will encounter and interact with in Argentina. Campers agree that in the event of a violation to the code of ethics and behavior, they will face possible expulsion from the program at their parents sole expense and responsibility.

Where and When, Our Itinerary:


The program will commence on July 5 and end on August 10, 2007. (arriving in NY on August 11)

During the first leg of the trip we will travel to exciting and sophisticated Buenos Aires. From there we will travel to other magnificent parts of Argentina. We will visit with our fellow artists friends and participate in their communal activities.

The city of Buenos Aires is often referred to as "the Paris of Latin America". Argentina is home to a vibrant, committed and creative artist community. The city itself is one of the most exciting cultural and architectural urban centers in the world and the cultural capital of Latin America.

During our stay in Buenos Aires we will work and visit with a number of NGOs, including the Madres of Plaza de Mayo. We will join with them in solidarity work and community service activities. We will work with the NGOs in a variety of solidarity tasks: we will pack and deliver meals to impoverished and isolated elderly, we will help sort and distribute clothing and medical supplies, we will gather and distribute toys for kids, we will visit and help repair the campus of an old-folks home in the outskirts of the city. We will also visit and meet local high school kids and spend time with them in a variety of cultural and sporting activities.

We begin our program in the capital city, Buenos Aires, and from there we will travel to the owe-inspiring Andes Mountains, bordering with the Republic of Chile. We will ski, sail and hike the magnificent surroundings. We will get to know the peoples who live in those mountain highs. We will enjoy daily eco-adventures in breathtaking snow and ice mountains, and we will also enjoy a choice of various other winter sports. From the mountains, we will travel East across the country to visit rural communities and Gauchos settlements in the Province of Entre Rios, North of Buenos Aires.

Our local NGOs are very experienced and very engaged in the work of providing extensive service and solidarity engagement with neighborhood dwellers and poor peasants. The NGOs of Argentina are active in extensive solidarity work. Argentina was a pioneer in the creation and maintenance of active networks of mutual-aid and cooperativism. Our program will bring our kids together with their counterpart peers in Argentina, and as a group, engage in joint work activities, arts, tours, socializing and learning. Every community has its own particularities and what we try to do is adapt our programs to the needs and expectations of our hosts.

One of exciting parts of this trip is our ability to interact in an organized manner with a variety of very diverse and beautiful local cultures. Educationally, this will be an experience our kids would not normally be able to pursue on their own. The local NGOs are deeply involved with the arts and in issues related to housing, nutrition, environment and other subjects (even English teaching), and we will be able to integrate ourselves into these activities. At the same time the ecology of the surroundings and the culture of the local peoples are extraordinary. We will visit the snowy Andes mountains, many different species of fauna and flora, volcanoes (from the outside..), lakes, glaciers, animals in their natural habitat, and from atop the Andes glance into neighboring Chile.

Our local NGOs are very eager and happy to have us over. We will be staying at safe, sanitary, pleasant, comfortable and licensed lodging facilities. The lodging will be at properties registered and supervised by the local Tourism Ministries and regularly inspected by tourism and health officials.

(Important Note: the actual itinerary is subject to change in consideration of climactic and other considerations beyond the control of the program director and the chesed '07 staff).

A few words about safety:
As a general statement, every one of our tours contains a strong component of security and safety. This is obviously very important to us and also, on a personal note, I often bring my own kids to the trips. Foreign travel is not without risk, bit this trip is not a risky one. For the purposes of this program to Argentina, we will have two separate sets of security arrangements. As we travel and transfer, we will have a team of security guards traveling with us from place to place. it is also my practice to send notifications to the police precincts along our routes and to send daily email updates to the American consulates. We exercise caution and common sense and we trust our local hosts, security guards, community centers and other experts to guide us in a safe and reliable manner. I will send daily emails to the families describing our activities.

Tuition: The tuition for the entire trip, including international round trip air fare NY-Buenos Aires-NY, lodging, 3 meals a day, all ground transfers and transportation, all activities on the ground, all the tours and trips, all the materials, and all the cultural and ecological programs, is only $4,757.00. Deadline for applications is January 8, 2007.

Registration:

Please carefully review the registration forms, the financial information, the code of ethics and behavior and the release forms. Please include a short essay telling us about yourself and explaining why you have chosen to join a Summer arts and community service program. Please review, complete and return all the forms to us together with a non-refundable application fee check of $400.00 payable to: Community Development Partners for the Americas, LLC, 203 Rockingstone Ave. Larchmont, NY 10538.

Please do not hesitate to call or write should you require any additional information. We can be reached by phone at 914-833-7787 or by email at CDPA@cdpa-americas.org