Dr. Martin Almada

Today was my first real day on the job shadowing part of the programme. 

I visited the Fundacion Celestina Perez de Almada. Which is an organisation here on Paraguay that works closely with rural families and the indigenous people.

Their main work is with solar energy and the project has been running for 20 years.

With the help of Dr. Martin Almada the research into solar energy in this area has allowed people to change the way they prepare and preserve food. The organisation provides people with solar ovens to dry out fruit so it can be eaten when food is short. Also with solar powered tanks to help clean the water, as dirty and unsafe water is common in the rural areas.

The organisation reaches 3000 families with this work. Their short term aim is to put food on the plates of the people. But long term it is to create a sustainable product that the people can operate and hopefully make a profitable market for their communities. 

Through this work it is hoped the communities will learn the value of recycling and looking after their products as waste here and disposal of products is struggling. 

After this Dr. Martin Almada took me and David to Paraguay's historical museum. Here we heard some shocking stories about what has happened to the people in as recent as 30 years.

The Doctor tells me how he was imprisoned as a young man in a Paraguayan concentration camp for three years for writing a thesis on the educational system. He was called an intellectual terrorist and kept in inhuman conditions. 

I'm sure that during my time here I will learn more about the history of the country and what the organisations are doing to improve the human rights of its citizens.