Paraguay 2014, Day 6 - Simple gestures matter

Today, Sunday the 29th, we were able to go into the community of Santa Ana for the first time after traveling for much of the day from the campo in Monte Alto and Dacak.  It was hard for me to leave my host family yesterday because I felt that by the end of the week it had become so much easier for me to talk to them and learn about their lives and to share more about my life in the US. I felt that we had an incredible week of learning and sharing about our respective cultures, and for that reason it was a little sad to leave them after so little time together.

Today we experienced for the first time a part of Paraguay that was unlike anything we saw in the campo, and, for me, a situation that I had never seen in person; the terrible flooding in the Santa Ana community in Asunción. As we drove through the city from our hostel, I noticed small shacks made out of scrap wood and metal dotting the streets, increasing in number as we go closer to the Centro Comunitario in Santa Ana. Once we arrived at the Community Center, we began to walk around and talk to the inhabitants of the crowded clusters of rooms.

One mother that I spoke to told me that she had been forced to move, with her entire family of five, into a crumbling room made out of scrap materials. While the physical aspects of the area were a shock – the sights, sounds, and especially the smell – what struck me most was how the people affected the most by the disaster had not given up hope; they continued to make the best out of their situation, no matter how dire it might be. Instead of retreating into the semi-darkness of their homes, the people came out to greet us and to speak with us. There was not a sense of defeat, rather of resilience.

The other major idea that I took from our brief tour of Santa Ana today was that simple gestures mean so much for the people in the community. Unfortunately, the government has not helped them nearly as much as the people need, which has led to a nagging feeling that they are being left alone to deal with this huge disaster. Our simple gestures have so much more meaning because there is much more behind every one; a quick ¨hola¨ or ¨¿cómo estás?¨ is not just a greeting but a sign that someone cares about the community, and the people, and wants to help to make a difference in their lives.

Riley, 16, Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School