Cordillera/Paraguari, Paraguay Project Update
Cordillera/Paraguari, Paraguay Project Update
June 23, 2003
On behalf of our staff we would like to welcome you to the Paraguay 2003 Weekly Updates from wonderful Caacupe de la Cordillera! Stay tuned for exciting Project Updates as the summer (or winter as the case may be!) progresses.
This year, volunteers on the Healthy Households project will be living in 13 communities in the Department of Cordillera ranging in size from 40 to 100 families. Volunteers on this project will be partnering with community members and local SENASA representatives to design and conduct an educational program in elementary schools focused on basic health, and also carry out a latrine construction program.
Volunteers on the Life Skills Project will be living in 12 communities in the neighboring Department of Paraguari ranging in size from 40 to 200 families. Primarily, volunteers will be working with local youth and interested community members to design and carry out an educational program focused on environmental health. Volunteers and community members will work to identify relevant environmental projects to carry out in their community, such as family and community gardens and tree nurseries.
Last Tuesday morning at 11am all 59 volunteers arrived safe and sound to the Silvio Pettirossi Airport, accompanied by AMIGOS President Emily Untermeyer. Fortunately, all thirty-seven missing bags were recovered by Project Staff within two days of volunteer arrival. Our three day briefing was held at the Centro de Conferencias Bautista in the city of itacurubi, in the Department Cordillera, about 80 kilometers outside of Asunci?n. Our first night of briefing kicked off with introductions of staff members and the project area, followed by a mellow evening to allow volunteers to adjust to the new environment and get to know each other.
Wednesday morning brought with it a grand apertura, or ?opening ceremony? for both the Life Skills (Plan International) and Healthy Households (SENASA) Projects with the principal contacts from the local government and our partnering agencies participating.
The ceremony was followed by lunch and music from a traditional Paraguayan band (Harp and all!). The next few days of briefing included the following highlights:
SENASA conducted a hands-on latrine construction training, accompanied by a talk on basic health education. We were also joined by Peace Corps volunteers and the Peace Corps Director of Environment Programs who gave talks on tree planting, gardening, composting and youth organizing. For our last day of briefing, two to three representatives from each of the twenty-five communities came to the briefing site to join volunteers in team building and curriculum development activities. These community members then departed with the volunteers for their communities that afternoon. We hope that this will help to jumpstart the volunteers? integration into their communities and the development of their in-class educational curriculums.
