Children's Island

In 1989 Andrea traveled to Argentina and worked in the SOS Children’s Village in Obera, Misiones, for half a year. That is where she met the Argentine, Haide, who was working there as well.

After Andrea had returned home, she kept in touch with Haide through letters and phone calls, and they often dreamed about ways to help some of the numerous needy children in Argentina.

When Haide moved to Posadas, the capital of Misiones, the two friends decided to start their own project to help some of the many children in need Haide saw every day in the streets of Posadas.

Haide felt that one of the best ways to help would be to support single mothers by offering them a safe, nurturing place for their young children to stay, so they would not have to abandon or neglect their children while they went to work.

Andrea, who lived in Germany at that time, started a non-profit organization in Munich, Germany, asking all her family members and friends to contribute to the project on a regular basis. When enough donors had signed up, Andrea traveled to Argentina, she and Haide rented a house for the project, and in September 1993, the “Isla de Niños” opened its doors in Posadas.

Since then the center has grown with the children in its care, offering after school care when our first children started going to school, later offering the Club “Isla de Niños” for older children and teenagers, adding the food program, the monthly meetings for mothers, and now starting to offer scholarships for Secondary School and Vocational Training.

Haide’s sister Elsa was the first teacher working at the center in Posadas, and she and Haide ran the center until Elsa moved to Capiila del Monte in Cordoba and started a second “Isla de Niños” there, which Elsa is now running with her daughter Barbara. Haide was able to hire two sisters to work with her in Posadas, Carola and Liliana, who are loving, warm hearted and dedicated teachers.

In 1996 Andrea moved to the United States. Her friends in Germany who started the center with her continue to run the organization in Munich, and Andrea founded “Children’s Island” in the United States. The two organizations together are funding the “Isla de Niños” in Argentina.