Paraguay 2014, Day 8 – Resilience

Driving to Santa Ana, a small poverty stricken area outside of Asunción, no one was prepared to see the things we saw. Sabine told us it would be a hard day, but I thought she might have been exaggerating a little bit. She wasn’t. The roads were filled with makeshift houses and we were able to see the rising flood right in front of our eyes. People were carrying on about their lives with little shops set up outside of their houses. We walked around a bit, meeting new people who had been recently displaced by the flood. They were very welcoming and open about their situation. It seemed as if they didn’t even see it as a situation really. It was more of a pebble in the middle of the road and they just had to move it to keep going.

While walking, I couldn’t stop thinking about the children and babies. They looked so innocent like they weren’t exactly sure of what was going on. The streets were filled with mud, feces, and bits of scraps that couldn’t be used for the shacks. Walking back to the community center, where we would coordinate games to play with the children of the community, I was trying to convince myself of something, but I couldn’t really figure out what. My feelings were all jumbled because I’d never experienced something upfront and personal as watching a flood rise 20 ft. away from you and having to take in what would happen to those families that were so close to the water. I didn’t exactly feel sadness but I could feel something in my stomach and near my heart after a while. I could feel my head trying to process something as horrible as this happening to my family. The people of Santa Ana are so brave and to them it probably doesn’t seem like they are being brave, but just doing what they have to do to protect their families and lives.

Our guides told us about how the government refused to help the people of Santa Ana, because they settled on illegal territory and did not pay taxes. However, the people of Santa Ana do pay for electricity and water to the government. The Paraguayan government still hasn’t called for an emergency in the Santa Ana area.

The next day we arrived at a soup kitchen where we separated clothes for donations for the displaced families. We’ve been separating and bagging the clothes for the last few days and yesterday, we began separating foods for the families. I helped an older woman move out of her house and she was so small and feeble but she was as brave as ever. She was getting what she needed and she even asked us to take down her roof so people wouldn’t steal the tin from her house. The looting rate has gone up drastically because of the flooding and the lack of supplies the government has given the people. She was an amazing woman and every time I saw her at the soup kitchen and even while we were moving her items she kept a smile on her face.

I know we can’t do everything for the people, but I know that we’ve put forth an effort. The people of Santa Ana are more resilient than anyone I’ve ever met or heard of and I can truly say that I will admire them forever for continuing to go on with their lives and make things work.

Carli, 16, Edmund Burke School