Guayakí Latin America in Argentina has been driving local policies with Social Impact, focusing on the 20 de Junio neighborhood that is on the outskirts of Comandante Andresito. This is home for many local yerba mate harvesters and there is great room for improvement in the areas of health assistance, social justice, inclusion, nutrition, drug abuse, and youth mentorship.
The decisions to bring 2021 Fair Trade Premium investments into the 20 de Junio neighborhood was made in an Assembly at the Barrio Sports Center. Many community members of the most recent yerba mate harvest, their families, local leaders and the Guayaki team were involved in this decision.
Everyone gathered around a meal prepared and served by the Guayakí team for long conversations, eventually arriving at these decisions about the projects and resource allocation. Building a Primary Care Center in Andresito is a very important project that requires a multi-year commitment from Guayakí Latin America, the local community and public institutions. The Municipality of Andresito will make final adjustments in 2022 to complete construction and have the center ready for use.
Services to be provided in the Primary Care Center by health personnel under the coordination of the Municipality of Andresito include health promotion and disease prevention through: daily visits with Health Promoters of the Municipality for weight control, height, vaccinations, detection of malnutrition or addiction problems, care for chronic non-communicable diseases, etc; clinical medical attention on a fortnightly basis, both pediatric and adult; weekly psychological attention, especially for issues of addictions, alcoholism, family violence and other pathologies; vaccinations; and support groups for substance addictions and teenage pregnancy prevention.
Also, the community identified the need to support the local boys and girls soccer teams in order to create a sense of equality and belonging and inspire passion for sports and physical activity. Promotion of sports in marginalized neighborhoods can generate strong impact by favoring inclusion, improving physical and social development, and above all, getting kids off the street towards healthy activities.
