Who doesn't know of the famous Eva Peron, affectionately known simply as Evita?
TOMB: MEMORIAL PLAQUE
María Eva Duarte de Perón was the second wife of President Juan Perón and served as the First Lady of Argentina from 1946 until her death in 1952. We visited the Duarte family tomb in the La Recoleta Cemetery, Buenos Aires where she is interred. A gifted speaker and tireless worker, she dedicated her life to making Argentina a better place for the disenfranchised, and they responded by creating a cult of personality to her that exists to this day even as her exotic life in furs and designer clothes, was in strong contrast to her good works.
Gone too soon at age 33, just imagine how today she could have supported Habitat Argentina by helping with their housing solutions for families in need.
In 2011, two giant murals of Evita on the building facade of the Ministry of Social Development, located on 9 de Julio Avenue, were unveiled. One on each of two opposite sides, showing two different Evita images. It is a fitting location, on a building dedicated to social works, on this multi-lane roadway, and can be seen from blocks away.
By the late 20th century, she had become the subject of numerous articles, books, plays and musicals. The most successful rendering of her life in the musical production of "Evita" by Andrew Lloyd Webber was later made into a movie with Madonna cast in the title role. The video below, showcases the film's most famous song.
Prior to departing for Buenos Aires my mind was filled with apprehensive thoughts:
Would all the months of preparation and planning be executed flawlessly?
And what about the team, would we all mesh into a cohesive group?
What about the wide mix of ages, four under 23 years of age, six over 60 and others in between?
Arriving in the city, my apprehension escalated to trepidation when learning that our worksite neighborhood had been flooded and there had been mass evacuations....
Now, two weeks later, and preparing to head back home, I am reflecting on our time together. And I feel a tremendous sense of accomplishment.
As I evaluate team Paterson:
We were able to complete our work on the 3 houses and made a lasting impact on the lives of three families, despite neighborhood flooding and mud.
Our group of 14 strangers and acquaintances became friends and had a wonderful experience together that we will remember for a lifetime.
Working with the under-23 group, I learned that indeed our country is in fantastic shape with its future leaders.
I also saw firsthand that our group members over 62 kept pace, and then some, with our younger members. And to think I was worried about that...
We came to help our tithing partner, Habitat Argentina, build houses.
We leave having been enriched by the local team of Anna, Connie and Victoria. They taught us how to be creative in finding housing solutions in a housing market that offers very little opportunity for low income families. I am thankful for the crash course given us on the history and culture of Argentina. It helped us navigate the land and understand the people who live here. We leave with facts not impressions.
Thank you team Paterson, for making the time and effort into planning this trip as it was worth every second. I am proud to have been a member of this fantastic team. We stood out as individuals and worked as a well oiled machine. We accomplished the job that put in front of us and made Paterson Habitat shine as an affiliate.
This team leader exits with pride and a big smile on her face.
With everyone wearing the Paterson T-shirt, the "official" team photo was taken in the morning before work began.
Today there were a few projects to complete: additional rebar columns to make, more concrete to add to the walkway to the front door and one wall to finish. Late morning, Connie would lead a small group on a neighborhood tour. At 2 p.m. a Bbq for everyone was planned at Graciela's house. On the schedule in between would be house dedication at Claudia's and some recognition of the other homeowners with whom we had worked side-by-side.
On the site today:
WALKWAY (CAR AT R IS NEIGHBOR'S)
GREEN NAILS BUILDING THE REBAR FRAMEWORK
House Dedication:
The Paterson team members each signed the Bible which was presented to Claudia as a special memory of friendship. Standing in front of today's completed wall, Barbara Dunn, executive director PHFH, explained to Claudia that this was how Paterson dedicated their houses back in NJ.
CLAUDIA (AT L) AND TWO SONS THANK BARBARA
AND PATERSON HABITAT FOR THEIR VOLUNTEERING
AND THE HOUSE BUILDING HELP THIS WEEK.
FRONT: ANTONIA
REAR: MARIA, GRACIELA AND CLAUDIA WITH BARBARA
Lunch was an Argentine Bbq with all the volunteers, all the homeowners and all the local Habitat staff who had been on site these days.
Graciela shopped for all the food, prepared salad and sauces, grilled beef, chicken and sausage, plus opened up her home with table and chairs set up in the unfinished new dining/living room. Desert an coffee followed. It was a fine feast.
Our team worked at only one site today: Claudia's house. And a lot was accomplished.
WES (L) AND DAN
Concrete: Wes and Dan worked on a concrete walkway from the street to house. Carting earth, mixing the concrete, pouring and smoothing. Scott was helpful with doing the shoveling and sometimes moving by wheelbarrow and sometimes by bucket load. Also completed laying the base concrete on the floor of the house. (Later a finish concrete layer will be added.)
Rebar: This was 420cm long rebar, fashioned with support bands, bent by hand and twisted into place. These were tied vertically into the ends of the brick wall and will be filled with concrete for support. Cutting the rebar to length, cutting the bands and fashioning into the columns which we jokingly called "cell towers".
It was a mini production line and if you follow the photos, you may get the idea.
The highest falls in the world is Victoria Falls.
Niagra Falls has five tiimes tthe water spilling over the edge than the others.
But Iguazu Falls in Argentina is #1 in width at 1.8 miles wide.
And Iguazu is also #1 in the number of falls with a total of 270 falls making up the total.
Over millions of years the Igaucu River formed the basaltic rocks canyon where three countries of Argentina, Partaguay and Brazil meet in a triple borderline. This union is the location of Iguazu. Four decades ago, the waters ran clear, but since then, with forest clearance in most of the watershed, each time it rains, water washes away unprotected soil and the falls show red streaks. Click to see video below:
Here's a view (below) of the falls known as Devil's Throat:
No work today. It is Saturday and the team is off on various adventures. Some on day trips in the Buenos Aires area and five others to the famous Iguazu Falls.
We introduce the three homeowner families.
SITE ONE, Claudia:
Claudia is very appreciative of all the help given in the work on their "seed house". Her seven-month old baby is usually present watching the work from his stroller, while Mom helps with some of the projects. Dad is a skilled worker and very valuable helping our Habitat team. Even their seven year-old son is an enthusiastic presence on site after his morning hours at school.
CLAUDIA AND SON
SITE TWO, Antonia:
It is the same with Antonia, she is very grateful for the Habitat help. In addition to removing the roof and providing space for future improvements, Jan got her started on an organization path. Antonia's husband is working in the metallurgy industry.
ANTONIA'S DAUGHTER AND GRANDSON
SITE THREE, Graciela:
Struggling with water and humidity in her home for years, Graciela is finally getting a house solution with Habitat's help and our volunteers. Mother of 4 children, her 16 year-old daughter, Bianca, is an art student and proudly shows off her favorite work. Bianca has a strong interest in art and said that she travels one hour by bus each way to and from her school.
