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17 October 2002 by Paola Chorna in Buenos Aires "This is a devastated community," sobs Pascual Pavón, community leader in Damasco, which, like most of western Paraguay, is struggling to deal with the effects of a sustained drought. Damasco lies in the village of Laguna Negra and is home to 77 families, which have an average of 10 members each. Their staple foods are beans, corn, watermelon and melon, which are harvested twice a year. Pavón says that lack of water allowed each family to farm just one acre each this year. "It is not enough. Our children are suffering all the symptoms of malnutrition," he says, pointing out that it has not rained here for eight months. "We don't have any food reserves," Pascual says. Now these subsistence farmers have nothing left to sell or eat. The two-year drought has affected the western Paraguayan departments of Alto Paraguay, Boquerón and Canindeyu. So far, the Paraguayan Red Cross (PRC) is the only non-governmental organization to visit the worst affected areas. Together with a team from the United Nations' Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) and members of the Departmental Emergency Committee, staff from the PRC national headquarters have carried a preliminary evaluation of damage and assessment of needs throughout Boquerón. This has led to a plan of action, as part of which the PRC will concentrate on food distribution, provision of water and institutional coordination and support. Help is coming locally and internationally. The Red Cross sub-branch in Bella Vista, in Itapua Department, has shipped 20 tonnes of provisions to the Boquerón branch for immediate distribution. Meanwhile, the International Federation has allocated 70,000 Swiss francs (US$ 46,500) from its Disaster Relief Emergency Fund to assist in the operation. This kind of help is badly needed. The children of Damasco are not only suffering from malnutrition. As a result of drinking polluted water, they also suffer from diarrhoea and vomiting. Fidel Peña, Water Sanitation Delegate for the International Federation's Pan-American Disaster Response Unit, says tests on samples of the water these people have been drinking show that it is heavily contaminated. To date 17 people have died of diseases related to drinking contaminated water, and there has been a marked increase in infectious diseases. There is growing concern that the health situation will deteriorate, given that daytime temperatures are now rising to above 40 degrees Celsius. Of the 77 families, only 37 have latrines in their homes. The rest have to use the solitary lavatory in the village school. There are only two health promotion officials from the Health Ministry in the region, but they have neither transportation nor medicines for those affected by the drought. The nearest urban community centre is in Filadelfia, which is located 53 km away. The "tajamares" drainage system used for collecting water are now totally dry, while the cisterns used to store water are unhygienic and the water they contain not drinkable. Related Links: Paraguay: Appeals, Updates and Reports |
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