"We are happy for all the love and support they gave us this year," says Norma González, mother of Milagros, a girl who began attending the CDI in the Villa Jardín neighborhood in 2017 at the tender age of two. The promotion of childhood is a State Policy for the government of Enrique Cresto; for this reason, work is carried out with great dedication in the 15 Child Development Centers, spaces created for the comprehensive care of more than 1200 children in Concordia.
The CDIs –Child Development Centers– are municipal institutions intended to stimulate the comprehensive development of children. They operate under the coordination of the Directorate of Policies for Childhood, Adolescence and Family of the Secretariat of Human Development and Health of the Municipality, headed by Miguel Gallo and Guillermo Echenause, respectively. And in joint work with the Departmental Directorate of Education. They are spaces dedicated to the comprehensive care of children, providing nutrition, support, and early stimulation. There are currently 15 CDIs in the city, with more than 75 children per Center.
Norma Gonzalez, Milagros's mom, indicated that her little girl entered the CDI a bit shy and with difficulties speaking well. Over the course of the days, with the affection of all the members of the Center, the teachers, the cooks, and her little classmates, the little girl celebrated her 3rd birthday at the CDI and, to her mom's joy, Mili began to speak fluently.
The harsh reality brought many children at risk to the CDIs, due to lack of food, lack of affection as a consequence of domestic violence and often physical abuse, or due to different situations. Currently, they are proof of the favorable changes in terms of health and support that the CDIs have been generating in recent years. The children of the San Agustín, Cipo, Isthilart, San Miguel 1°, Norte, Pierrestegui, Pancho Ramírez, Constitución, San Jorge, Capricornio, Benito Legeren, El Silencio, Villa Jardín, and Cabo Sendros neighborhoods, and a Maternal Kindergarten at the C.I.C Néstor Kirchner, had access to adequate nutrition, recreational and educational activities, and health care with professionals.
Defending children is defending and caring for the entire family. For that reason, in Concordia, work is being done to strengthen family bonds in their caregiving role and improve the conditions for child development. The innocence that characterizes them, the sincerity that defines them, and that sparkle in their eyes that provides hope, are some of the many contributions that children give to our society. Childhood and everything surrounding it is the field of work in which the municipal administration decided to invest heavily, because "a happy child, with happy moments, will be a good person when they grow up," summarizes Mayor Cresto.
One of the most successful programs implemented by the area is "Nutrition in Motion." It consists of education on the importance of nutrition, through activities with both the children and the parents and families of the children who attend the CDIs. A healthy, balanced, and sufficient diet guarantees the child's cognitive and emotional development. That is why the food program provided in the CDIs was reviewed and, under the coordination of professionals, each of the more than 1200 children is offered a lunch whose menu varies in 10 different dishes, and which provides 60% of the energy value that a child needs daily.