Organization Objectives

IDANI strives to improve the quality of life for handicapped and disabled individuals in La Plata by providing patient care, educational workshops, and public campaigns. Its goals are to:

• Optimize the quality of life for disabled/handicapped individuals by helping them reach their full potential and enjoy an active lifestyle
• Provide a safe, positive and supportive environment for disabled/handicapped individuals
• Support community integration for disabled/handicapped individuals through social, recreational, and cultural activities

 

Program Information

 

1.     Patient Care (“Centro de Día Creciendo Juntos”)

IDANI’s patient care program, Centro de Día Creciendo Juntos, provides care for low-income handicapped/disabled individuals by providing free and low-cost rehabilitation and therapeutic services. Most patients come to the Center daily, while other patients live on the premises. IDANI divides its patients into five groups (Yellow, Red, Blue, Green, and Fuchsia) according to function level, affinities, behavior, and age. Each patient group works with a variety of specialists to receive comprehensive rehabilitation. These specialists focus developing motor skills, improving cognitive function, resolving pain issues, and increasing mobility. Specialists at IDANI also work with patients on personal hygiene, social skills, and helping patients to become self-reliant in their daily routines. The goal is to raise patients’ self-esteem and help them to enjoy as active a lifestyle as possible.

 

Opportunities

• Observe and assist doctors with daily patient care
• Help patients with rehabilitation activities
• Research current practices in rehabilitation and therapeutic services and compile report for staff
• Research funding opportunities and write grants for program development and expansion

 

Requirements

• Intermediate to Advanced Spanish (spoken)
• Must be a medical professional or student who is currently studying Psychology, Psychiatry, Kinesiology, and/or other medical-related fields
• An understanding and sensitivity for the issues that affect handicapped individuals and those from marginalized zones
• Interest in social work
• Excellent interpersonal communication skills
• High level of personal initiative
• Ability to work independently as well as in a team

 

2.     Education

At IDANI’s Escuela Especial, clients participate in enrichment activities and workshops on topics such as cooking, sewing, gardening, and sports. Additionally, IDANI takes patients on field trips to aid in community integration and increased independence (e.g. to dance shows, supermarkets, downtown shopping malls, movies, and/or neighborhood walks).

 

Opportunities

• Assist in leading activities, group outings, and workshops for adolescent, teenage, and adult patients. Workshop topics include, but are not limited to:

o        Cooking

o        Sewing

o        Dance

o        Drama

o        Gardening

o        Sports

o        Horseback riding

o        Ceramics

o        Painting

o        Carpentry

o        Computers

• Develop and organize new extracurricular activities and workshops on topics of interest to clients
• Assist with fieldtrips to locations around the city

 

Requirements

• Intermediate to Advanced Spanish (spoken)
• Background in special education, social work, medicine, and/or related fields
• An understanding and sensitivity for the issues that affect handicapped individuals and those from marginalized zones
• Excellent interpersonal communication skills
• High level of personal initiative
• Ability to work independently as well as in a team

 

3. Business Development and Administration Support

IDANI needs assistance with managing the organization, as well as strengthening and expanding existing programs. It would like to create materials for public campaigns, and develop a website and database. Additionally, IDANI welcomes support with administrative duties, monthly personnel meetings, and family activities.

 

Opportunities

• Create and maintain a webpage for IDANI that is informative and attractive
• Provide consulting services on how to best manage organizational funds
• Develop a sophisticated database that can be easily updated for IDANI, which includes:

o        Past and current patient records

o        Financial donors

o        Applicable grants

o        Relevant useful information for the organization

• Develop educational and marketing materials about IDANI’s services, including but not limited to flyers, posters, billboards, pamphlets, brochures, and signs
• Organize a public campaign that aims to:

o        Obtain donations and funds

o        Recruit regular donors

o        Create community awareness on the difficulties faced by disabled/handicapped individuals

o        Promote the equal treatment of disabled/handicapped individuals

o        Promote IDANI’s services

• Organize fundraising events to involve families of patients and community members
• Research and gather information on international grants that the organization is qualified to apply for
• Write grants to potential contributors and donors
• Implement a fundraising system for regular and sustainable financial support
• Assist in organizing and setting agendas for monthly personnel meetings
• Develop and lead monthly family meetings and family-patient activities
• Support administrative tasks, including but not limited to:

o        Maintaining employee records

o        Issuing and filing employee evaluations

o        Obtaining consent forms from families for patient outings

o        Organizing and updating patient files

 

Requirements

• Intermediate to Advanced Spanish (spoken)
• Background in business development, fundraising, and/or related fields
• An understanding and sensitivity for the issues that affect handicapped individuals and those from marginalized zones
• Excellent interpersonal communication skills
• High level of personal initiative
• Ability to work independently as well as work in a team
• Detail-oriented with strong organizational skills

 

Program Supervisor (All Programs)

The role of supervisor will rotate among various staff members. Each supervisor provided to manage participants will be a licensed professional and have at least two years of experience working with IDANI. If a participant requires that his/her supervisor have any specific qualifications, please note this in the FSD application so that IDANI can take measures to ensure an appropriate supervisor match.

 

Note: Responsibilities offered to each participant will be proportionate to their level of experience. Participants who are new to development work may predominantly support and assist current project agendas, while those with much applicable experience may be able to assume greater responsibility. Research projects are strongly encouraged by this organization to support each program’s objective because minimal resources are currently allocated for research.

 

Working Conditions

IDANI is located on the outskirts of La Plata in a semi-rural setting. The commute time to work can vary between 20 and 45 minutes. The majority of the work will be spent at IDANI, which is made up of four buildings that surround a courtyard. Each building contains patient rooms, bathrooms, a kitchen, a dining room, a salon for workshops and group activities, a laundry room, a nurses’ room, and an administration office. There is also a small swimming pool and an outside barbeque. The work environment is friendly and professional. The IDANI staff members are ambitious and extremely dedicated to their work.

 

Organizational Background

IDANI was founded on the principle that disabled and handicapped individuals deserve equal opportunities. Therefore, this nonprofit center encourages the community to recognize the existence of diversity and value it. Its programs strive to give disabled and handicapped individuals the capacity to integrate into society and live healthy lives. To run its programs, IDANI relies on 26 staff members, each playing a crucial role within the organization. The staff is comprised of: one technical director, one doctor, one psychologist, one social worker, one nutritionist, one physical education professor, nine assistants, five nurses, two maintenance workers, one cleaner, one clothes washer, one cook, and one cleaning/cooking assistant.

 

In the future, IDANI would like to expand its financial resources to improve the infrastructure of its building and to purchase more modern rehabilitation equipment. With more sustainable funds, IDANI hopes that patients can enjoy a more pleasing atmosphere as well as benefit from improved services.

 

About IDANI’s Clients

The majority of IDANI’s patients come from sectors of society that cannot afford specialized medical care. Patients include children, adolescents, and adults who have various disabilities, some of which include muscular dystrophy, cerebral palsy, and Down Syndrome. Most patients come from La Plata and its surrounding areas. At any given time, there are usually between 35 and 50 patients on the premises.