An Update from Paraguay
For over two decades Solidarity Bridge has focused its mission efforts in Bolivia, the country with the poorest economy in South America. Recently, however, we began a new collaboration in neighboring Paraguay, the second poorest country in South America. Our first mission trip to Paraguay in April 2011 focused primarily on pacemaker surgery. Subsequent mission trips in 2018 and 2019 helped to solidify and formalize long-term institutional partnerships with Caritas of the Archdiocese of Asunción, the Paraguayan Ministry of Health, and the public Hospital Nacional de Itauguá.
At Solidarity Bridge we have gradually begun to recognize these partnerships in Paraguay as an integral part of our organizational mission. In 2019, our mission statement expanded to state that we “partner with communities in Bolivia AND Paraguay.” We are excited and honored to expand our community to include friends and colleagues in Paraguay.
Since the beginning of the orders in the U.S. to “shelter in place” Solidarity Bridge has made efforts to remain connected to our solidarity community in Paraguay. Fortunately, Paraguay has been quite successful in its quarantine efforts, earning the distinction of having the fewest COVID-19 cases in South America after an early lockdown.
During this time of social distancing, it is especially meaningful to receive the following letter from long-time friend and ally of Solidarity Bridge, Ricardo González, Pastoral Social Coordinator for Caritas of the Archdiocese of Asunción, Paraguay.
Dear Solidarity Bridge community,
Thank you very much for this great service of keeping us in touch and united at this moment, in which reality forces us to be apart! It is an exceptional time that we are going through as inhabitants of planet earth. This is a unique moment that should help us rethink and redirect the lifestyle we are leading ... and return to God, to our creator and owner of our lives.
We believe that the situation is fairly controlled in Paraguay. Thank God our authorities acted well this time, enforcing the recommended isolation measures on time. Classes were suspended in schools, colleges and universities, sports activities and everything that entails crowds of people. The general population has been abiding by and supporting the restrictive measures recommended by the government. We are even taking care not to share the máte and the tereré, even though this is very important for us!
Similar to you, we face limitations in our medical infrastructure, supplies, and access to COVID-19 tests. There is limited community spread, which is great news. I want to highlight the great performance of our Health Minister, Dr. Julian Mazzoleni in this “war against an invisible enemy.” He and his team are highly respected.
Restriction measures have been tightened with bans on circulation throughout the country, except in exceptional cases, like those of us at Caritas who are free to travel to help those in need. The borders remain closed. Even on Easter the people remained in their houses, since all religious activities were suspended.
The most serious problems, in addition to health and the economy, are the social problems. In Paraguay, the majority of the population work in the informal sector. Which means they don’t have social security. They live off what they earn from day to day. They don’t have savings and when all the shops are closed and they are prohibited to travel, they are left without income and without access to basic essentials, including food.
The government is restructuring the general budget, lowering salaries of public officials and reallocating budget items to the health budget. This will help to improve health facilities and equipment. The Ministry of Health has only 304 ICU beds, which it plans to double. This will be enormous progress. Furthermore, the Parliament approved the contracting of loans of up to $1,600,000 which is a large amount, considering our poor economy. The government ordered the transfer of funds for the poorest sector to buy food.
This is where Caritas can play an important role. Our institution has a good reputation for being good stewards of donations in times of crisis in the country. We decided to install community dining rooms in the parishes of the Archdiocese of Asunción. We are partnering with businesses that provide us with all the supplies needed to prepare food, using the infrastructures and volunteers from the parishes. We started with distribution of 5,000 daily meals and we want to grow to at least 50,000 daily meals for these communities.
At the moment this is what I can share about how we are with this pandemic in Paraguay. Dear friends, thank you very much again for this space, for your concern and communication in this time of crisis. I greet each one of you with a big virtual hug! (Hugs are very much a gesture of closeness for us). I look forward to hearing from you too. I know things are difficult in the U.S. at this time. I pray for you and I ask you please take care.
As we navigate the uncertainty of the ongoing health crisis, we find solace and joy in our global kinship with one another. We pray for all those most affected by the current pandemic and we give thanks for the closeness and support of our solidarity family in the U.S., Bolivia, and Paraguay.