“Plant gardens and eat their fruit (Jeremiah 29:5)”

ARGENTINA, Juan Diego Stellatelli •

The vegetable garden at Casa del Niño is beginning to bear fruit. The first squashes have already been prepared in our kitchen. —

What are the benefits of a vegetable garden for the children?

• It promotes teamwork, cooperation and camaraderie, patience, perseverance and a sense of responsibility.
• It promotes an awareness of life. Children realize that a plant needs care, attention, waiting, development, and a process to finally produce a final result (flower, vegetable, fruit).
• It stimulates the senses as they learn through touch, smell, sight and taste.
• It provides a hands-on and intuitive learning experience. They don’t just learn what they’ve read in books or heard from their teachers, they get to see firsthand how natural processes work.
• It shows the value of effort and gives them respect for their work and its results.
• It encourages them to care for the environment. Teaches them the importance of respecting the environment and nature.
• It promotes healthy eating. It brings many healthy and seasonal foods within their reach so they can get to know and taste them.
• It is a moderate physical activity.

Vegetable garden in the Casa del Niño

Gardens where hope grows

“Plant gardens and eat their fruit (Jeremiah 29:5),” writes the prophet Jeremiah to the people of Israel who were exiled from Jerusalem to Babylon by Nebuchadnezzar. He encourages the people to seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which they had been led, even if it meant living there for many years. He also warns the exiles to beware of false prophets who promise them an immediate return to Jerusalem. This verse tells them then and us today to act where God has placed us and to honor Him in our present situation. Without would have, could have, should have, concretely here and now. A biblical message that we can read in the Casa del Niño, located in one of the poorest and most marginalized neighborhoods of Florencio Varela. The 300 children who are cared for here and their families honor God where they live, in their current situation, by planting gardens. Gardens not only for pumpkins and tomatoes, but with the generous support of many, gardens of education, of values, of learning, gardens where talents, dreams and hope grow.

The vision of Casa del Niño is to help families, parents and children find meaning in their lives and overcome the threats that surround those who live in disadvantaged neighborhoods.

The mission of Casa del Niño is to enable every child to discover his or her talents and grow up in a friendly, welcoming and loving environment. The mission of the caregivers at Casa del Niño is to help each child develop independence, solidarity and responsibility.

Original: Spanish. Translation: Maria Fischer @schoenstatt.org