The trauma of leaving their homes, sharing small spaces with other families and being away from their belongings generates many changes that must be addressed. The emotional impact on the population is undoubted, due to the large number of young people, seniors and people with disabilities who are already in the shelters. Children and adolescents are also exposed to high levels of social and family tension, which, in addition to their own losses and difficulties in understanding the situation, assume a challenge for their healthy adaptation. A large part of the affected population in Asunción is dedicated to low-paid jobs or independent jobs where recycling, fishing, small-scale marketing and domestic work predominate. The displacement to the shelters of the people affected has had a negative impact on their daily income. Daily life presents difficulties in the access and use of water, which directly affects health and increases are reported in cases of diarrhea, skin problems, febrile cases.
The “INUNDACIONESASUNCIÓN2019” Project, implemented by the Paraguayan Red Cross with Emergency Reserve Funds of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement to support the declaration of Emergency and benefits more than 3,000 families affected by the floods in Asunción and that they are still living in shelters. Among the actions, active participation workshops are held with themes and concepts of inclusion, forms of violence and the circuit for the prevention or reporting of cases. The proposal is that communities are prepared to use the route of reporting and protection of the most common cases of violence in their environment, becoming themselves the closest and most immediate help network.
With more than 50 volunteers who travel daily to the different river refuges, they develop actions that ensure basic health conditions, safe water use for hygiene and sanitation. Actions to protect and raise awareness in situations that violate rights and support to restore some means of life lost due to the forced displacement of communities.
