PETISOS is a civil society organization whose principal objective is to support children and adolescents to effectively claim and exercise their rights. We prioritize our interventions with socially-vulnerable populations, embracing a perspective that acknowledges children and adolescents as individuals with full rights and not as objects of protection.
The PETISOS Model
PETISOS seeks to address Argentina's child labor problem through a three-pronged approach. On the ground, PETISOS works directly with the children and families that have been affected by child labor. Operating out of community centers in two different neighborhoods where these issues are most prevalent, PETISOS runs its "Action for Rights" program. With a variety of after-school programs, PETISOS has been able to create a safe, creative and constructive environment for children to spend their time while not in school. Additionally, PETISOS works with the children's families to address the root economic problems that initially forced many of the children to work in the trash dump. Through various initiatives, including cooperative shopping and microenterprise and microcredit opportunities, PETISOS seeks to provide avenues for each family to improve their long-term income generation prospects.
The second arm of PETISOS seeks to involve and collaborate with a variety of stakeholders, including schools, social services, government agencies and the judicial system. With the ultimate goal of successfully reintegrating the children into the educational system, collaboration across institutions is key to ensure that the children and families receive adequate support from all stakeholders involved.
The third pillar of PETISOS' approach toward protecting children's rights is a campaign to influence public policy at a regional, national and international level. PETISOS seeks to scale its impact by training other organizations to replicate the PETISOS model, working with major businesses and creating networks to increase knowledge and awareness about the issue. In conjunction with a media awareness campaign that is being carried out in Buenos Aires, PETISOS is working to encourage the adoption of legislation that uses more integrated and collaborative approaches to effectively support the reintegration of forced child laborers into the educational system nationwide.
PETISOS hopes to scale its work internationally by collaborating with international institutions such as the International Labor Organization. By working with other community organizations working toward similar goals in other countries, PETISOS hopes to help transform the ILO commitments made in the Hague into effective programs on the ground in Latin America.
