The Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA) in Paraguay, together with officers of the Seventh-day Adventist Church in the country, recently visited the governor’s office of the Boquerón region to present a detailed report on their initiatives across the Chaco, a jungle region in the northern part of the country.
Boquerón governor Harold Bergen attended, as well as Paraguay Union of Churches Mission (PUM) president Benjamín Belmonte and treasurer Carlos Zurita. Guido Lucas, area humanitarian affairs project manager of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, also participated in the meeting to strengthen interinstitutional collaboration in favor of the wholistic development of the most vulnerable communities, church leaders reported.
ADRA Paraguay Projects in the Chaco
One of ADRA Paraguay’s projects is facilitating 50 meter by 50 meter (164 feet by 164 feet) seedbeds with a drip irrigation system, with which people are growing sweet potatoes, onions, and potatoes. “This space seeks to conserve seeds and revitalize family gardens, promoting food self-sufficiency of the communities of the Chaco region,” ADRA leaders reported.
ADRA workers are also planning to train women in the Indigenous community of Timoteo, in the central area of the Chaco, with a fully equipped sewing workshop. During the remainder of 2025, ADRA workers will facilitate training modules to teach women how to sew skirts, blouses, sportswear, bedding, and mosquito nets, generating opportunities for personal and economic development, leaders reported.
Launch of a Clean Cisterns Initiative
In addition, ADRA workers launched the Ñamopoti Ñande Aljibe (Let’s Clean Our Cisterns) initiative at the Filadelfia departmental school. Promoted by the Ministry of Education and Sciences and the Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development of Paraguay, the initiative seeks to raise awareness of the importance of keeping cisterns (underground water tanks) clean. Having access to clean water is essential for disease-free water storage in communities across the isolated region, as access to drinking water is challenging.
One of the main goals of the campaign is to involve children and teenagers, who throughout the year will produce educational videos on how to care for water cisterns. The resources they create will be part of a competition to select the best awareness-raising content, leaders reported. “It is expected the contest will get the educational community involved, fostering the students’ and teachers’ creativity and commitment,” they said. “ADRA Paraguay and regional Adventist church leaders have joined the campaign by promoting it across the communities [in which] they are currently working.”
At the end of the meeting with regional government officers, the delegation made a tour of the school garden to view its progress since it was launched, leaders reported. “These initiatives reflect the commitment of ADRA and the Seventh-day Adventist Church to the social well-being, human dignity, and sustainable development of Chaco communities,” they said.
The original version of this story was posted on the South American Division Spanish-language news site.