Fundraisings by Children Protection Foundation in Argentina · Global Voices
Gabriela García Calderón Orbe

On the blog section of Argentinian newspapaer La Nación [es], Daniel Balmaceda tells us on his Unexpected tales [es] the origins of the fundraising campaigns by the Children Protection Foundation [es] (Padelai, by its Spanish name) in Buenos Aires:
A comienzos del siglo XX, en Berlín y Copenhague se realizaba una fiesta que involucraba a toda la comunidad. Era el “Día de los niños pobres”. […] Jorge Williams, vecino de Buenos Aires e integrante del […] Padelai, conoció los pormenores de la actividad en las ciudades europeas, por una carta que le envió un amigo, acompañada de fotos ilustrativas. En septiembre de 1904, Williams presentó la idea en la comisión y planteó un proyecto osado: repetir la experiencia en Buenos Aires.
By early 20th century, in Berlin and Copenhague there used to be a party that involved the whole community. It was the “Day of poor children”. […] Jorge Williams, a Buenos Aires resident and memeber of […] Padelai, heard about the details of the activity in the European cities, through a letter sent by a friend, along with some pictures. In September 1904, Williams presented the idea at the commission and suggested a bold project: to repeat the experience in Buenos Aires.
The idea was successful in Argentina and Balmaceda ends up his piece wondering:
Si tenemos en cuenta que [la colecta] se fundó en 1892 y que por sus casas pasaron cerca de dos millones de chicos, nos preguntamos: ¿cuántos argentinos estaremos vinculados, en forma directa o indirecta, con esta institución?
If we consider that [the fundraising] started in 1892 and that almost two million children stayed in their houses, we wonder: how many of us Argentinians are related, directly or indirectly, with this institution?