The year 2005 saw the most difficult economical crisis in Paraguay of the past twenty years. More than one third of the 5.5 million population live in poverty, the government faces virtual bankruptcy, the unemployment rate is at 18%. Ever since the end of the military dictatorship of Alfredo Stroessner in 1989, the country has been through several attempted coups and still suffers from political instability.


The Specific Situation of the Street Children
More than 50% of Paraguay?s population is younger than 17. One in five children has to work more than 9 hours per day. Official figures estimate that 400,000 children are working in Paraguay. They work on highways, at street corners, bus or train stations and in private homes. Often they are runaways from rural areas, who tried to escape the abuse, violence and hunger at home, and who ended up in prostitution, violence and drugs.
  

When we sent a pioneer team to Paraguay, they heard many stories of children, who were sold for up to US$ 40,000.00 to the United States and Canada, and of young, abused boys and girls, who were forced to prostitute themselves on the streets of their cities.
Right from the start we saw how for generations the children in Paraguay had been used for all kinds of duties. In war time, they were even sent into battle dressed up as soldiers to fight for their land.

(The figures given are taken from various UNICEF studies.)