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Paraguayan school faces health crisis, awaits government response for urgent repairs
🇵🇾 Paraguay /Culture & Society

Paraguayan school faces health crisis, awaits government response for urgent repairs

From ABC Color · () Spanish

Translated from Spanish, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News Sources not specified Context piece
  • A school in Asunción, Paraguay, urgently needs G. 10 million (approx. $1,300 USD) to repair its sewage system and toilets.
  • The Patricio Escobar school's sewage pit overflowed nearly a month ago, forcing the closure of lower-grade bathrooms and creating health risks.
  • Despite official notifications and parental efforts, the Ministry of Education and Sciences (MEC) has not provided emergency funding or technical assistance.

The Patricio Escobar school in Asunción, Paraguay, faces a critical sanitation crisis, desperately needing approximately G. 10 million (around $1,300 USD) to avert a health collapse. The school's sewage pit overflowed nearly a month ago, leading to the closure of bathrooms for younger students and forcing them to share facilities with older grades.

Until now, despite the official notice we made with the Directorate of Infrastructure, the parents' complaint, and the publications, we have received no response from the Ministry; we haven't even had a visit from technicians to see our plight.

— Mirna GenesThe school director expressed frustration over the lack of response from the Ministry of Education and Sciences.

School director Mirna Genes confirmed that the institution lacks the necessary funds for repairs and expressed dismay over the Ministry of Education and Sciences' (MEC) inaction. "To date, despite the official notice we made with the Directorate of Infrastructure, the parents' complaint, and the publications, we have received no response from the Ministry; we haven't even had a visit from technicians to see our plight," Genes stated.

The overflow has rendered the lower-grade bathrooms unusable, creating a significant health hazard. The situation is compounded by nauseating odors emanating from the ground within the school premises. While the sewage pit was temporarily managed by draining 1,200 liters of liquid, this measure is insufficient to resolve the underlying problem.

We are truly in a critical situation; a response is urgent.

— Mirna GenesThe director emphasized the immediate need for action to address the sanitation problem.

Parental efforts to fundraise have fallen short of the required amount. Genes emphasized the urgency, noting that private technicians have estimated G. 5 million for the sewage pit repair and a similar amount for renovating the existing bathrooms. Miguel Marecos, president of the National Union of Directors (Sinadi), visited the school and stressed the need for increased emergency budgets for educational institutions. He highlighted that the school is located in a modest neighborhood where families struggle to support their children's education, making it difficult for them to cover such unexpected repair costs.

Our schools can no longer cope with these problems; it is urgent to increase the budget to solve emergencies that arise.

— Miguel MarecosThe president of the National Union of Directors highlighted the broader issue of underfunded school infrastructure.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by ABC Color in Spanish. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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