Help 1,300 children & their families during floods

Neighbors donated some of the cement, bricks and other building materials. That is how it all started. Several companies from the city also collaborated. After a year of construction, on November 13, 2010, the Community Center Remansito opened its doors.

Its sixth anniversary was a celebration for a whole week. We went out to visit the homes of the community; we played, shared a big cake and even received international visits.

In these years, there have been many changes, form and substance. Infrastructure, materials and learning resources, but above all the desire to continue walking together.

A bit of history...

Mrs. Dominga, known by everyone as "Ña Domi", has witnessed the changes of the Community Center of Remansito for the last six years. She is member in mother’s commission and has been part of the center since its inception.

The salon for early childhood care has changed radically and it attend ninety children daily. The objective was to fight the heat of the Chaco, for which the ceilings and the walls were fixed. They installed more fans, to turn it in a more pleasant and comfortable place.

During the inauguration, it was possible to see the surprise and the emotion in the eyes of the children. Now the space has three learning sections: Construction, house and art.

It has also changed the way of teaching in school support classes. Now it is intended that above all children be able to think and reason, not just to memorize lessons.

Changes in families are also visible. Amalia Segovia, teacher of school support at the community center for nine years, believes that there has been much progress. She highlight greater involvement and involvement of families. "Mothers share more time with their children, speak to them more and listen to them. The children know their rights and learn to take care of themselves" she concluded.

After months of hard work, in Remansito we had a great joy and celebration. August is the month of childhood in Paraguay and, in the Community Center Remansito, we prepare activities that promote the rights of children and adolescents. We were fortunate to have the support of mothers, fathers, teachers and other caring people.

We started the month of childhood inviting students from the six schools of Remansito to participate in an activity "Knowing my rights". It consisted of a fun interactive tour of the most important issues that make the reality of children and adolescents in our country. In groups, the participants walked four stages where specific issues addressed through games: Health, identity, participation and protection.

We were not just in the Community Center. A week later we went to tour arround the community to present the activity "Finding ourselves with our inner child". Our aim was to raise awareness about the importance of play as a key element in the healthy development of children. To do this, we deliver traditional toys at public institutions and community agencies, including the police station, and the health posts. We had a nice moment of fun and reflection with doctors, nurses and police officers.

We believe that game is important to develop skills such as teamwork and cooperation. The game is a means to celebrate differences. Therefore, we deliver kits of traditional games of Paraguay at six schools Remansito. We want schools to be community friendly spaces where children can grow up happy.

In this period, another important challenge was about health. We found a fun way to get timely information to the community about healthy hygiene and nutrition, from a preventive approach. About twenty children were protagonists of this proposal. After participating in training workshops, we prepared a play with puppets to bring to schools in the community. It was a very nice collective creation process where children were commissioned to develop the characters and the script of the play, with their own language.

We are happy and satisfied with the work done. They were about 1,500 people who were able to participate in some of the activities of this period. Remansito is a community with many difficulties, but eager to get ahead.