La Máquina de los Sueños

Adoption Form

The Association was founded in 1997 as an educational project aimed to target the schools present in the area of Las Quintas / Barrio San Carlos. Then in 199 the "Padrinos Escolares" project was started to promote the distance adoptions with the purpose of ensuring adequate schooling to children who, for different reasons, were in difficulties. These are not orphans but children whose families are experiencing a difficult situation, starting with the impossibility of supporting themselves. Nevertheless problems might be of different kind: many children have learning problems due to inadequate cognitive stimulation and psychological problems, some are depressed, many malnourished, some with disabilities, many with parents with neither educational qualifications nor job.

How does the association acknowledge the cases and identify the children or youth in difficulty eligible of support:
Initially cases were signalled from schools and few other institutions present in the area. As the Association spreads its roots into the population and thanks to the fact that since 2001 it has its own headquarter and establishes an excellent relationship with the local Toba indigenous community (present in the area with about 35 families), the Association itself is able to monitor and identify the situations of difficulty. Many families come to seek help and the Association then verifies, if the case is not known, the real needs. Usually these are families who care for the education of their children, look for a brighter future or a chance to improve life of their children. Since 2004, when Pre-School and Nursery were inaugurated, the Association can effectively now take care also of younger children.

The Association identifies or receives requests for help and develop a priority list according to an assessment of the real necessity and urgency. Then it searches and waits for sponsors to help these children. It often occurs that sponsors cannot be waited due to the severity of the case or because the child risks to lose the school year. In these cases the Association provisionally ensures the necessary aid by means of an Emergency Fund, until a "Padrino Escolar" is identified. The target beneficiaries of the adoptions may be children whose age is at least one year and a half or boys who need a strong support to complete the cycle of the compulsory school. In some cases the children are helped to continue university studies. In order to ensure that they are really benefitting from the studies all the students are followed in their training by volunteers from the Association (constituted in the majority by teachers and some school directors, psychologists, educationalist or social workers, etc.).

By means of the contribution of "Padrino Escolar” children are granted the school enrolment, the school materials and full clothing (inclusive of the rain coat, sports suit and other activities gear). Throughout the year, children are taken to places of interest and are given a food supply during the many activities that take place in the structure (tuition, manual works, ceramics, chess, dance, music, English, computer, etc.). Then during the month of January a summer camp is also organized. Moreover a volunteer physician regularly visits the children to prevent diseases and address urgent cases to hospitals. The Association also covers regular dental examination and treatment of prevention. Each family receives a bag of non-perishable food in order to ensure the availability of food supply at home too. A fund for emergencies (especially on health care) is also established.

In recent years the Association has become a landmark and a centre of aggregation thanks to the work in close contact with the community and thanks to the many activities taking place in the different structures. In fact this area is characterized by a lack of history or identity because most local families are from other provinces or from neighbouring countries and moved here only in search of work. Therefore in this context of geographical and socio-economic marginalization they have found ways of getting to know one self and one another and a place where to build the background for a civil and supportive community.

Any contribution on sponsorships and donations from Europe is collected and managed by Italy and the funds collected in our account are periodically sent to Argentina.
The contribution for an adoption is 400 Euros per year, which may also be paid on a monthly basis (33.50 Euros per month). There is also the possibility of joining with the shared adoption formula that consists in supporting the long distance adoption of the child with half contribution (200 Euros) together with another person who has chosen the same mode (corresponding to 17:00 Euros per month if paid on a monthly basis).

Who decides to join the project (see membership form) is only asked to agree on also adopting a child with disability, or if for some reason he/she has any preferences of age or sex (such as wishing to adopt a child with the same age as his/her children in order to establish a better relationship between them). The association in these cases will do its best to meet this preference but this is not constraining as in any case the recipient will be chosen based on the above mentioned priorities. It is also asked if for some reason he/she prefers to remain anonymous, even though it is highly desirable that the person establish a loving relationship with the child through the Association as it positively contributes to his/her growth.

Once the adoption is established the parents are asked to sign a paper where they commit to abide by a specific set of rules of conduct (for example to inform at once when the child is not going to school for some reason). The same commitment is taken with the school and the teachers who are asked to regularly fill a form provided by the Association. This form informs on the status of the student learning so to be able for the volunteers to help when a problem occurs. Should the commitment be unattended this may cause the loss of benefits of the recipient of the distance adoption.
Periodically in Italy we receive (at least twice a year, but of course depends on the relationship that is created over the time) envelopes with letters, report cards, all kinds of news, photos, drawings of children, etc. All of the correspondence is translated and dispatched to each godfather / godmother. We also receive brief reports regarding the situation of families and children in general, especially when some new problems occur.

The “Padrinos” are also informed on the progress of the project and all initiatives organized in Italy to support the activity in Argentina.
Another important thing: the funds paid will be entirely managed by the Association. Therefore in no way money should be given directly to the families as the Association deals with providing them with the necessary funds. Any extras (e.g. for birthday gifts or donations to help the family situation) are always handled by the Association that will buy directly what requested if it is deemed to be truly necessary to the child and also taking into consideration the socio-cultural context in which the child is living.
If you wish to join please print the attached form, fill it in, sign it and send it by fax to 0039065133839.
We will timely inform the Association in Argentina that will choose the child / youth. Once this is done we will act as intermediaries to facilitate communication, translate the messages, collect and send money, receive and send correspondence or emails, etc.

We are at your disposal for any further information or clarification, so feel free to contact us at our mailing address, e-mail or phone.

In Italy:
La Macchina dei Sogni,
Address: piazza Augusto Albini, 5 00154 - Roma
e-mail lamacchinadeisogni@fastwebnet.it
tel. 065133839

In Argentina:
La Máquina de los Sueños
Address: Calle 148 entre 35 y 36
La Plata 1900 – Argentina
Tel. 0054 221 479 02 65
email lamaquinadelosuenos@yahoo.com.ar

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