On Monday 7 September, at 4.30 in the morning, a fire destroyed the family home in Riacho He Hé. Norma died that night. Her husband got out, but he inhaled a lot of smoke and is under treatment.

By bank transfer from Argentina, Chile or the United States. The giving page has the details for each country. You can also help on the ground. Justo Miguel Vargas's WhatsApp, email and Instagram are published. This page does not process payments or ask for card details.

What do you want to build afterwards?

First, rebuild the house. After that, the intention is that this continues: communication and digital tools for other people from the town. There is not yet a constituted organisation, and no published programme.

A firefighter in a helmet and breathing apparatus steps through the doorway of the house at night. The wall is aqua green and through the barred window the orange glow of the fire inside is visible.

Riacho He Hé, Formosa

La Casa de Norma

A fire took a great deal from us, but not the most important thing: the strength of a community that stays.

Help rebuild →Read the story

Two firefighters with a hose in front of an opening from which high flames and black smoke are coming. The water has already wet the floor.

Houses can be rebuilt. People and the bonds between them can too.

What happened

The fire took our house

On Monday 7 September, at 4.30 in the morning, a fire destroyed the family home in Riacho He Hé. Norma died. Her husband survived and is in treatment.

The house burned down.

Read the full story →

A room with no roof. The walls are bare brick, black in one corner; a burned timber beam hangs in the empty space and the floor is covered in rubble.

The front of the house in daylight. The sea-green wall is stained black above the window and the paint has lifted from the heat. The sheet metal of the eaves is twisted.

The garage with a burned-out car in the centre. The walls and the sheet-metal roof are black and the floor is covered in burned remains.

This is what was left of our house.

The community

People showed up

Family, neighbours and friends. In the same days as the fire, the community organised to clear and haul debris.

Together, everything is possible.

A man with a shovel piles rubble into a mound of broken brick and ash. Behind him, the bucket of a yellow loader is already full of burned remains.

The reconstruction

See the work on the house →

Burned engine parts laid on the floor and on a table, sorted by type: pipes, exhaust manifolds, a blue crate of tools. The legs of several people working around them are visible.

How to help

Your help counts too

Three ways to make a difference

Choose how to help

Bank transfer from Argentina or Chile, Mercado Pago or PayPal. Choose the channel closest to you and copy the details.

Bank transfer

Argentina

Titular

Justo Miguel Vargas

CUIT/CUIL

20 - 33184377 - 7

Alias

justomiguelvargas

CBU

1430001713005033120017

Número de cuenta

1300503312001

Chile

Nombre

JUSTO MIGUEL VARGAS

RUT

25540188-2

Banco

Scotiabank

Tipo

Cuenta Corriente

Número Cuenta

980578127

Correo

justomiguelvargas@gmail.com

Mercado Pago

There is a Mercado Pago link for Argentina and another for Chile. Choose the one for your country.

Argentina

Go to Mercado Pago Argentina →

Chile

Go to Mercado Pago Chile →

PayPal

Make your contribution securely from any country.

Go to PayPal →

Thank you for being part of this.

Clear debris

If you can give a hand in person, we are organising a crew to clear and haul debris.

Justo Miguel Vargas

+56 9 6578 9862

WhatsApp Call Email Instagram

Material donations

Cement, lime, sand, roof sheets. Any other material useful for the future house helps too.

Cement
Lime
Sand
Roof sheets

To arrange a delivery, write to Justo.

Justo Miguel Vargas

+56 9 6578 9862

WhatsApp Call Email Instagram

Norma

A woman who told the story of her town.

Norma de Vargas

She spent much of her life recording the everyday history of Riacho He Hé.

Journalist, correspondent, photographer and newspaper distributor. Bringing the news to the town was part of the same craft.

Read her story →

What comes next

More than a house

First we want to rebuild a house. Then we want to help build opportunities for Riacho He Hé through communication and digital tools.

Cover of the book Norma Edith Bedoya (Norma de Vargas), Pioneer of communication in Riacho He-Hé. A portrait of Norma appears next to the Obelisk, the Public Library and a Diario La Mañana front page.

The legacy

Once the family has a place to live, the intention is that this continues: communication and digital tools for other people in the town. It is not an organisation yet. The site says so.

The same community that is helping today can create more opportunities.

What comes next →

La Casa de Norma