This summer I'm working for Amigos de las Américas as a Project Supervisor (P-Sup) in Paraguay! So far, this week we have been training at the staff house, cooking meals together, and getting to know the tranquil city of Villarica.
What am I going to do as a project supervisor? To be brief, my job will be to take care of our high school summer participants, who will each live in a community with 1-2 other participants. They'll have to do their own CBI (Community Based Initiative), plan out activities with local youth related to our project themes (Community Health and Children's Rights), work with our partner agencies, and overall, integrate themselves as fully as possible into a warm and welcoming community, a new culture, and a very different way of living.
Each week, I will be traveling on a route and visiting our participants in their communities. Monday through Thursday I'm going to stay the night in each community, and Friday through Sunday I'll be at the staffhouse doing paperwork, budgeting, purchasing supplies, and writing blog posts. Route time is when I will check up on our participants, their host families, and how everyone is getting along on their projects. As p-sups, we wear a lot of hats - project managers, logistical coordinators, mentors. To the volunteers, we're also the postal delivery service!
But most importantly, we have to ensure the health and safety of our participants, which is the biggest responsibility of all. Right now in training, we're learning how to respond to all types of potential situations: illnesses, medical emergencies, standards of conduct violations, misunderstandings between participants and host communities, and assault, to name a few. Although I'm gaining a ton of valuable training and information, I know that this summer will truly test me in ways I have never been tested before. I expect to encounter situations more stressful than anything I've ever experienced before, to make difficult decisions and do my best working with whatever I have available because that is what my volunteers will need from me.
A little overview of the district we're in, taken from our Project Information Packet:
What am I going to do as a project supervisor? To be brief, my job will be to take care of our high school summer participants, who will each live in a community with 1-2 other participants. They'll have to do their own CBI (Community Based Initiative), plan out activities with local youth related to our project themes (Community Health and Children's Rights), work with our partner agencies, and overall, integrate themselves as fully as possible into a warm and welcoming community, a new culture, and a very different way of living.
Each week, I will be traveling on a route and visiting our participants in their communities. Monday through Thursday I'm going to stay the night in each community, and Friday through Sunday I'll be at the staffhouse doing paperwork, budgeting, purchasing supplies, and writing blog posts. Route time is when I will check up on our participants, their host families, and how everyone is getting along on their projects. As p-sups, we wear a lot of hats - project managers, logistical coordinators, mentors. To the volunteers, we're also the postal delivery service!
But most importantly, we have to ensure the health and safety of our participants, which is the biggest responsibility of all. Right now in training, we're learning how to respond to all types of potential situations: illnesses, medical emergencies, standards of conduct violations, misunderstandings between participants and host communities, and assault, to name a few. Although I'm gaining a ton of valuable training and information, I know that this summer will truly test me in ways I have never been tested before. I expect to encounter situations more stressful than anything I've ever experienced before, to make difficult decisions and do my best working with whatever I have available because that is what my volunteers will need from me.
A little overview of the district we're in, taken from our Project Information Packet:
"Guairá is one of the 17 ¨"departamentos¨ or departments of Paraguay, which is similar to a state in the United States. It´s in the Eastern Region of Paraguay and is characterized as being very fertile with green meadows and forests. It is bordered by the hills of Caaguazú and of Ybytyruzu. Within Guaira there are 18 districts, Villarrica, the capital city of Guaira, being one of them. Staff city headquarters, trainings and youth ecuentros will be held here.
The tierra roja (red earth) is a distinct feature of the region and makes the landscape truly breathtaking. The economy of this region is based primarily on the harvesting of lumber and agricultural production. Primary agricultural products include soybeans, stevia (an herbal sugar substitute), oranges, cotton, sugarcane, peanuts, corn, rice, tobacco, and yerba mate (a type of tea that most Paraguayans drink every day, all day)."
La vista desde nuestra casa en Villarica
El carpincho en la neblina de la mañana
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