Before we got to Paraguay we met several times to discuss what we would be doing on our two and a half week trip. We knew that we would be doing home stays and building things, painting and doing other community-building activities. That was supposed to happen in the countryside at Colegio Nacional de Santa Rosalia outside of Tobati, but nothing went as expected.
Our home stays were supposed to be in partners so the communication would be easier on those who were not fluent in Spanish, but that didn’t work out as planned. Our solo home stays were not the only “surprise” moment during the week in Santa Rosalia. During the week, we painted some chalkboards and planted trees and, through conversations with our host siblings, learned about the needs of the students at the Colegio. We expected to do a lot of hands-on projects but ended up with more downtime than originally planned. During that time, we played games with our hosts, sang and danced and learned about each other. And some of the tiny trees we planted were run over by cars which was tragic. Many of us were a bit restless because we felt like we weren’t getting accomplished and weren’t making as big of an impact as we thought we would. I was concerned that the Santa Rosalia community would think we were lazy and only came to their town to have fun. But, as it turns out, we made a bigger impact than we realized.
I didn’t realize we made an impact until we were about to leave Santa Rosalia. When we were saying our goodbyes, our host siblings and their families started crying their eyes out. It sunk in that we didn’t have to redecorate the Colegio or do physical labor projects to impact the community. We had made a lasting impression, both mentally and emotionally, on them by just being there. Our presence, conversations and the time we spent together was enough. Many deep emotions were exchanged over the five days and we didn’t have even know that was happening. I know the community of Santa Rosalia will never forget us and that we have made a lasting mark on their hearts and minds.
After leaving Santa Rosalia, we went back to Asunción to help the community of Santa Ana, but I was not quite sure what we would be doing there. To my surprise, Santa Ana was where we would finally being doing manual labor. We were asked to make the preschool in the town more enjoyable, bright and cheerful for the children. I ended up using a shovel, a hammer, a pick-ax and my hands to dig through the ground to create trenches. We then placed tires in the trenches to create a play space for the children. We painted the tires red, yellow, blue and green and we also painted the outside walls of the center bright colors. On one of the long walls along the perimeter of the daycare center, we painted a colorful cartoon mural.
I wasn’t sure how our work would impact the children but when we went back to the school the next day, we saw that the children played all over the tires and had a blast while doing it. It made me see that what we are doing can have a lasting impact on the children’s lives and will bring light to a dark situation. I am so glad that I came to Paraguay, and I hope what I did here will touch at least one person’s life. I am want to say thank you to everyone who helped me get here; this experience has truly changed me.
Natalya N., Parkdale High School
