Elderly and Children who are in a situation of poverty and social vulnerability will prepare the organic garden together at Hogar San Jose. It enables a healthy relationship between the two generations based on respect, work and commitment to the other. This shared space provides opportunities to strengthen the self-esteem of 40 children and the 50 elderly.
Elderly who live at Hogar San Jose are in a situation of loneliness, abandonment and indigence because of disabilities, economic problems and the death of their relatives. Children come from neighborhoods where social problems like violence, drugs and abuses are constant. They need activities that contain them and keep them away from these problems, showing them oportunities of changing their reality.
This shared space will make the elderly feel active, useful, accompanied and that will improve their self-esteem and protagonism in the society. For the children, it will be a space of care and contention, keeping them out of drug and violence. They will learn the importance of healthy eating, habits of care and respect for the others and the nature.
The therapeutic power of the garden improves the quality of life and the cognitive capacities of the elderly. It allows them to develop new manual skills or preserve what they already have, to strengthen temporary placement, to stimulate communication and interpersonal relationships. In children, it promotes the right to healthy eating, food sovereignty, living in decent conditions, caring for the environment and habitat, having a job and participating actively in the community.
