Fundacion Cruzada Argentina (FCA)

In rural northeastern Argentina, poverty, malnutrition, and unemployment are widespread: seasonal migration in search of poorly paid agricultural day labor is common, and many families subsist on government subsidies with little hope of economic advancement. Founded in 2002, Fundación Cruzada Argentina (FCA) supports rural communities in northeastern Argentina to achieve greater self-sufficiency through local income-generation and entrepreneurial initiatives, basic material assistance for primary schools, and a secondary school strengthening program that works in partnership with students, teachers, administrators, and parents to establish sustainable school-based programs in entrepreneurship and employability.

With EMpower’s third grant, FCA will take on a strategic planning exercise with 2 agro-technical secondary schools, one of which EMpower has supported for 3 years (training students and teachers in the planning and management of productive micro-enterprises to provide youth with practical tools for better employability in the future). FCA’s goal is to pilot-test a deepened approach with 2 EFAs and replicate it with other EFAs regionally. This exercise will consist of 3 phases: 1) institutional and context diagnosis (needs assessment); 2) strategic plan development defining key goals, objectives, and activities for the next 3 years; 3) initial implementation of activities identified in phase 2. Additionally, FCA will initiate computer skills training with students at 1 EFA.