life in the third world

I realize that up until now I have been writing primarily about the fun, exciting, or ridiculous aspects of life in Paraguay. But I am a social worker afterall, so now it´s Debbie Downer time. It´s necessary for me to write about these difficult things if you--my loved ones--are going to really understand life in a third world country. Even in these difficulties, though, I hope you will see that there is much joy and hope.

Here in Asuncion, all of the major intersections have street vendors of various kinds--food, candy, newspapers, window washers--who sell to the cars and buses that pass by. A large number of these street vendors are children. It was very shocking to me the first time I saw a little boy selling papers at 10am on a weekday. There are public schools in Paraguay, but they are dangerous, poor, and badly run. While children are technically required to go to school, no one enforces this law. Instead, they work from a very young age to support their families. Of course, the US was the same way for many years, and not so long ago. While flawed and imperfect, we have made strides in the protection of children, and this gives me hope for Paraguay.

Uneducated, working kids are especially prevalent among the Guarani population. As I may have explained earlier, the Guarani are the largest native population remaining in Paraguay. While their language is prominent in Paraguay, the people remain segregated from the dominant population. A large number of Guarani live in a township of sorts called the Chacorita. In reality, this is a dangerous shanty town that reminds me of the favelas of Brazil. Crime, drugs, and alcoholism are widespread. Kids have to go out and sell each day or receive punishment from alcoholic parents. The police do not go into the Chacorita because it is too dangerous. Outsiders in general do not go in the Chacorita. Part of what makes the Chacorita so shocking upon first glance is that it is located about 300 meters from the president´s house. You can walk past the brand new congressional building, between the ornate cathedral and the history museum and look down into this city next to the river. It is a completely different world.

Asuncion is full of these sorts of juxtapositions. Extreme wealth and extreme poverty. I have never seen more Mercedes in my entire life than on the streets of Asuncion. At the same time, horsedrawn buggies ride up and down the cobble stone avenues selling fruits and vegetables. The school where I take Spanish classes is a very good school, for the uppercrust of Asuncion. I hang out with the kids of senators and wealthy business owners. They are wonderful children, to be sure. So are the orphans that we visit regualrly.

We have been to two orphanages so far. One is very close to my school, located next to the women´s prison. A lot of the children are there because their mothers are being held nextdoor. Most of the women there are in prison for one of three reasons: killing their (probably abusive) husbands, having an abortion, or performing abortions. From the courtyard of the orphanage I can see the lookout tower of the prison, where an armed guard keeps watch. The turnover rate at this orphanage is high, and the average stay is about 6 months. Some kids, however, are obviously going to be there for a long time. Adoption is an expensive legal process, so it is hard for orphans to get new homes. Life there is simple, and the staff is very small--certainly not enough people to properly care for all the children who live there. The orphanage receives government funding, but the amount is very small. The kids are great. There are a lot of tough cases to be sure--behavior problems as well as physical, psychological, and emotional impairments as a result of their hard lives. But they are fun-loving and crave affection from adults. They want to be held and hugged all of the time. I have fallen in love with a boy named Roberto. My guess is that he is about four. He has some developmental delays and couldn´t walk at all when he arrived at the orphanage. Since then, though, he has had leg braces and can run around. He has the sweetest disposition. I´m pretty sure I would take him home with me if I was married.

The other orphanage we visit is about an hour outside of the city. 200 kids in one big house and a second building for the boys to live in. It is run by an amazing woman named Pati. She has five kids of her own, most of them grown. When I was there last weekend one of her sons was visiting from the city. He explained that they used to have a "normal" family, but that over the past 10 years they kept taking in more and more kids in need of a home. They had to move and completely change their lives to accomodate this large, unusual, fantastic family. It is run by a Christian family, and this home is a permanent situation for the kids living there. They can stay as long as they want, they just have to keep helping out and contributing to running the home. The kids are great, of course. They have benefited from a lot of structure and care in their daily lives, and they are invested there. They all take care of each other, and I am amazed by the warmth of their spirits. This orphanage also recieves some amount of government funding, but runs primarily on private donations. So if you are looking for a good investment, I can give you their address...