Below is a story from a visit to a Global Family Project in Paraguay:
The Global Family Program is a Mennonite Central Committee initiative aimed at improving life in individuals and communities through education. Programs are created to provide safe learning opportunities for children and youth, and to build confidence and skills in the students.
One such program exists in Paraguay, where Mennonite colonies in the Chaco have developed a boarding school in the indigenous community of Yalve Sanga. Students come from poor homes – parents pay what they can and Global Family funds pay the remainder. Student housing is available in the community, so that the students, of Latin Paraguayan and indigenous backgrounds, can live in the community and participate in all aspects of the school program.
On our way to Mennonite World Conference in Asunción, we toured some of the Mennonite colonies in the Chaco. One of our stops was Yalve Sanga, where we saw the hospital, the school, dormitories and teachers’ lodgings. The buildings and grounds are attractive and well-maintained. Cement sidewalks connect the school classrooms and medical buildings to one another. Time constraints kept us from touring the inside of these buildings.
We were also treated to a hot meal and Paraguayan music played by a group of men of the Nivaclé indigenous tribe. After lunch our tour guide interviewed one of the musicians in Plattdeutsch, the language spoken in the colonies by the German Mennonites and their indigenous neighbours. I appreciated having the opportunity to see first-hand how the church is working alongside indigenous people to provide education to its children and youth.
by: E. Tewes, Ontario
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