Eliezer's return to school

Eliezer Riveros' (13) house, where he lives with his parents and six siblings, is located on the side of a road that is not very busy, between crystal-clear water streams and breathtaking nature. This place is located in the Peguajho Typy borough in the district of Horqueta, department of Concepción. This area of Paraguay is characterized by a large population and one of the highest poverty rates in the country. Historically, the habitants of these landscapes face challenges to subsist and secure their basic rights.

Eliezer's family grows corn, cassava, beans, and other family-farming crops. His three older brothers work on nearby ranches, while his mother, Ramona, and her husband, Pedro, they farm on a property located 2 km (1.3 miles) away, with the help of Eliezer and his sister. This family demonstrates their strength every day as they struggle to meet their basic needs and seek new opportunities and livelihoods.

On March 13^th, 2020, in the face of the advance of COVID-19, Paraguay closed schools. Although this measure had a positive impact at the health level, for children like Eliezer it meant giving up studying due to the lack of technological tools needed to access virtual education.

"Homework came via cell phone and we didn't have a cell phone and it was very difficult to go get the materials and photocopies. He had already dropped out of school and I had given up hope that he would go back to school," explains his mother, while holding her youngest daughter, 12 months old, in her arms.

As a result of this situation, Eliezer dropped-out at sixth grade and dedicated himself to farm work, working part-time on a ranch across his house. Dressed in work clothes, while preparing his horse, he joyfully recounts his daily activities, without losing the mischievousness of a child growing up in a situation of exclusion, which limits his opportunities and lays down a path of difficulties, without access to the transforming tool that is education.

"I carry the hoe and clear the weeds. I sow corn, beans, cassava, among other tasks. I tend the cattle, I feed them. But when I finish my work in the afternoon, I go play soccer, go to the creek or go fishing," Eliezer says with laughter and jokes.

The way back

"I did the verification at the school and there I asked, where Eliezer is from, and there the teacher provided me with the address. She told me that he lives far away, 20 kilometers (12.5 miles) from the school. I contacted his mom, I explained to her what my job is and told her that I could visit her so we can talk more thoroughly," says Rosalba Muñoz, a social facilitator with the Let's Go to School! Project in the department of Concepción. Rosalba works together with the school teachers in order to identify children in this situation. She visits families to promote the right to education and managed services so that they can attend an educational institution as soon as possible.

The next day, Rosalba visited Eliezer's mother and was able to identify the barriers that hinder access to education, in addition to sensitizing his parents about the importance of attending school for their present and future.

After the interview, Ramona spoke with Eliezer about the possibility of going back to school and he told her that he wants to go back to school.

Overcoming barriers

Two days later, Eliezer returned to school. "At first, he did not feel very comfortable to attend alongside his new classmates, because he is older than them. Little by little he adapted and now he is perfectly integrated," explained Santiago Torales, principal of the educational institution.

Eliezer was enrolled in August, 2023 in school No. 28 Próceres de Mayo of Horqueta, Concepción. At the age of 13, he is in the sixth grade. With the help of his teachers and classmates, he was able to rediscover school as a space for development and training, which redefines his path and guarantees his rights.

Just as the work at community level resulted in Eliezer's return to school, pedagogical support is also required to enable him to recover his learnings and develop the necessary skills. "What this project proposes is very interesting: to create spaces for the recovery of learning, to have a classroom to help him recover the learning he did not have and where he is given the most important contents", explains the pedagogical supervisor of the Ministry of Education and Science (MEC, by its Spanish acronym), Gricelda Arce Cañete.

The work of the school's technical team, together with the search and accompaniment of the project's social facilitator, were important in getting Eliezer back into the classroom. However, all this work would not make sense without the strength and determination of the family and Eliezer's will to improve, which resulted in a change in the child's life trajectory.

Today, Eliezer is a regular student, he travels every day on the first bus at 5:30 in the morning for 20 kilometers to get to school and returns home on the same bus at 2:00 in the afternoon. His parents make a huge effort to cover the daily transportation and food expenses, while Eliezer does his part to catch up on his learning and integrate with his new classmates.

"When you incorporate the element of education in any person, it radically changes the life of that person and his or her family," emphasizes Teresita Riela, Secretary of Education of the Governor's Office of Concepción.

Through the Let's go to school! Project, educational institutions, government agencies, civil society and families are committed to working together to change this reality.

At national level, there are many children in this situation. According to a recent study by MEC and UNICEF, currently in Paraguay 1 out of every 4 children between 5 and 17 years old is out of school.

After having been out of the educational system for two years, the possibility to continue studying means hope for Eliezer, to be able to overcome the difficulties with the help of all the people who accompany his development and who seek to guarantee his right to education.

Let's go to school!

The Let's Go to School! Project, led by the MEC with the cooperation of UNICEF and the Education Above All (EAA) Foundation of Qatar, is supporting the enrollment of children in six departments of the country.

The initiative, supported locally by Global Infancia and Fundación Alda, focuses on the enrollment of children who have not yet enrolled in school and are outside the education system in the departments of Central, Itapúa, Alto Paraná, Caaguazú, Concepción and San Pedro.