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Gracias, Dequeni!
Thank you, Dequeni!
Danke, Dequeni!
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Emilia
Emilia
Emilia
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Francisco
Francisco
Francisco
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Isidro
Isidro
Isidro
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Jessica Lorena
Jessica Lorena
Jessica Lorena
Fotos: www.dequeni.org.py © 2005 |
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PARAGUAY, Dequení Bulletin / mkf. Jessica Lorena is six years
old and is the daughter of Mrs. Facunda who sells tereré (cold
maté tea) near the Caacupé Shrine. This woman has six children
and all sell candles in the area near the Shrine. Jessica is a very quiet
and introverted child. She attends the Centro Abierto Casa del Niño
(Open Center Home of the Child) which tends to 137 children who work in
the city of Caacupé. Her life changed thanks to a support scholarship…..and
to the people of Dequení. On October 6th, the Dequení
Foundation launched the campaign for support scholarships for the 2006
school year. This was done with the desire to make education possible
for 1, 000 children, an opportunity to grow in a different environment
from that of the streets.
Little Jessica has worked in the streets since she was 3 years old. Her
mother forced her to sell candles all day long. A Dequení educator
invited her to visit the Center and from that day forward, the child has
not stopped attending the project. She, as well as her 6 brothers and
sisters, received Educational Scholarships by which they were able to
enter school.
Jessica was enrolled in the first grade at the "Don Ramón Barrios"
school of Costa Pukú, an old company of Caacupé. She regularly
attends the program to progressively eliminate child labor. Reinforcement
classes, contact with other children and guidance from those responsible
for the project help her to develop her self-esteem, responsibility and
respect, but above all she is receiving love and understanding, values
which were unknown to her.
SUPPORT SCHOLARSHIPS, the opportunity for the children of Paraguay
With one contribution of 280,000 guaraní (37,00 Euros or $47.00
US dollars) a child will receive a Support Scholarship which consists
of : a backpack with all necessary items, a complete uniform, the tuition
for the school of their community and follow-up until the end of the school
year. The campaign ends on January 31, 2006. The campaign invites everyone
to foster the access to education, an indisputable right of every child,
and covers the annual costs essential to education. The scholarships will
be given to needy children from Asunción, Fernando de la Mora,
Caacupé, J. Augusto Saldívar, Caáguazú, Arroyos
and Esteros
According to data from the Ministry of Education and Culture, in Paraguay
it is estimated that 230,000 children are left out of the educational
system every year. Only 4 out of 10 children are able to complete their
basic education. According to UNESCO, some 25% of Paraguayan children
who do some sort of work activity and more than 10% of the working children,
do not attend any sort of formal institution.
Last year, DEQUENí gave out 1,030 support scholarships. Receiving
the Education Scholarships were : 150 children from the Proyecto Casa
de Acogida (Project House of Welcome) from Fernando de la Mora; 50 children
from Juntos por la comunidad (Together for the community) and 190 children
from Mitarenda from Asunción; also 190 children from the project
Derecho a la Educación (Right to Education) from J.A. Saldívar
and 150 from Caáguazú; 100 children from Centro abierto
Casa de Niño (Open Center Home of the Child) from Caacupé
and 200 adolescents from the Centro de Capacitación Vigilantes
de María (Center for Training Watchmen of Mary). It is a small
contribution which makes a big difference in the life of a child.
Francisco
Francisco is 19 years old. He finished his secondary studies this year
in the San Nicolás School of Asunción. He comes from a humble
family. He is the victim of many internal difficulties. He has 6 brothers
and sisters. His parents separated and he and two of his brothers live
with the father and the other children are with the mother.
Francisco is a beneficiary of Dequení since he was 11 years old.
Initially, he attended the Open Center of Mitarenda where he took advantage
of all the benefits offered by the center: school support, educational
scholarship, medical attention, nutrition and family and educational follow-up.
Upon completing the ninth grade, Francisco entered the group of youths
of the Proela, a Work Training Program. The Work Program helped him complete
his secondary studies and helped him support his aged and infirm father.
He completed his apprenticeship in the destroyed Supermarket Ycuá
Bolaños Botánico. Francisco affirms that this was an experience
which inevitably left him marked. By chance he was supposed to report
to his place of work on the very afternoon of the fire, August 1st.
Even today he cannot believe what happened. He remembers with sadness
and uneasiness his companions from the Program who died there. In his
memory there are unforgettable moments of the good and happy times with
his friends. He affirms that one never knows how or when one will be called
by God, but nevertheless, one must always be prepared. After this painful
experience, Francisco entered the training courses of the Centro Vigilantes
de María (Center for Training Watchmen of Mary). He received instruction
in Marketing and today he is trained in Maintenance and repair of computers.
He is working in a centralized bakery on the afternoon shift. He also
learned computer skills. His ideal is to begin his university studies
in the coming year in Systems Analysis at the National University of Asunción.
Francisco remembers with gratitude the support he always received from
Dequení ever since his mother, in a moment of anguish by the economic
and family difficulties, took him and two of his brothers to the open
center of the Foundation. Since then, the support has been constant. His
strength and dedication helped him succeed and he found new alternatives
for his life.
Isidro
Isidro Blanco Estigarribia is a boy of 12 years of age. He has seven
brothers and sisters, all minors. Since the age of 7 he sells candles
close to the Shrine of the Virgin of Caacupé. Last year he arrived
at the Open Center for street children "Casa del niño (Home of
the child)" through one of the educators. Isidro received an Educational
Scholarship to continue his studies. At age 12 he is in the third grade.
He twice repeated the school year and entered the education system late
due to the economic condition of his parents.
His father works selling chipa (a delicious bread made from tapioca starch,
cheese, and other condiments) in the city with his other children older
than Isidro. His mother stays home with her domestic tasks. Both parents
have little time to share other activities with their children, a reason
for which Isidro spends most of his time at school and at Dequení.
Isidro is a very happy child and above all very persevering: through
family guidance and educational follow-up, he improved in school. Every
day he attends educational reinforcement classes offered by the center.
In addition, his hours in the street become less. The support of his mother
is fundamental in the process of reinserting the child. She motivates
him to attend the center and to fulfill that responsibility.
María Emilia
María Emilia Recalde, 9 years of age, lives in an unsafe dwelling
in the Maká í de Luque settlement with her 11 brothers and
sisters. The youngest of all is barely 1 year old. Her parents work at
temporary jobs. Don Pedro usually works in the blacksmith trade and Doña
Teresa does washing and ironing. María says that her mother brought
her to the Centro Comunitario Educación, Bienestar y Paz (Community
Center for Education, Welfare and Peace) one year ago because she had
to go out and work and no one could take care of her. Her older brothers
and sisters work on the street selling candy and seldom are at home.
The youngster likes to study mathematics especially and says she has
mastered the multiplication tables but still has problems with division.
She is in the fourth grade at the school in her community "San Roque González
de Santacruz" during the morning session. In the afternoon she attends
Dequení where she receives educational reinforcement, an afternoon
snack, and the company of the educators who give her all their love and
attention.
In spite of being 9 years old, she appears to be a little 6 year old
girl. Her state of malnutrition is very visible. The poverty of her parents
does not allow them to see a doctor other than the doctor who offers medical
attention at the Community Center. María Emilia demonstrates that
she likes to play and entertains herself with the other children, but
laments not having a doll. She said that she never had one but the desire
to have one is still there.
Give me an opportunity
Francisco, Jessica Lorena, Isidro, María Emilia: four stories
which give hope, four stories of a generation which grows conscious that
there is solidarity in the world and that it is possible to change the
world. But, there are other stories: for example, that of a young German
man and father of a child in the second grade who asks that his birthday
gifts be for Dequení and he feels an enormous joy by being able
to help a child go to school. Or, the story of a young married couple
who on Christmas of 2004, found a pamphlet on the Support Scholarships
at a Schoenstatt Center and returned in July of 2005, to anonymously grant
a scholarship…..Or the story of a cousin of one of the Schoenstatt Sisters
of Mary who was surprised by such a beautiful initiative and spontaneously
decided to donate a scholarship on the day his oldest son entered school;
the story of a teacher who motivated her young kindergarten students to
donate a scholarship for her friends in Paraguay…..and because of the
love which radiated on the faces of the youngsters who received scholarships
he was moved so much that he decided to donate what he had received from
services lent to some friends…..The joy of solidarity is a shared joy.
Thank you, Francisco, Jessica Lorena, Isidro, María Emilia, for
giving us the opportunity to be supporters.
Contributions can be made in various ways:
- Dequení makes available to all interested persons the system
of contributing e-commerce through the Dequení website, www.dequeni.org.py
. In this way, not only the Paraguayans but also friends throughout
the world who wish to be added to the campaign from wherever they are
, may make their payment through this system.
- Another possibility of giving a donation is through the Schoenstatt
Fathers at the attention of Fr. Enrique Schaefer in Argentina.
Video
Translation: Carlos Cantú La Feria, Texas USA
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