Help prevent violence against kids in Montevideo

The shock of the arrival of the COVID-19 pandemic has profoundly disrupted our daily lives. We were faced with the need to improvise new ways of connecting and to reinvent ways of inhabiting both private and collective spaces. In the midst of the crisis, humanity has been called to build bridges of solidarity in order to remain connected.

There are no limits to creativity in the "new normal". New ways of being challenge the paralyzing fear of the uncertain and unknown in order to reorganize our interactions and solidarity strategies. We hope to give an example of greater humanity to children, who are interpreting what is happening through the mirror of our actions.

The Pandemic Logs

In this context, we have decided to record the activities carried out by the different social actors in order to capture their experiences, impressions, feelings, action and perspectives on the pandemic. This particular moment in history allows us to rethink the ways we inhabit our collective spaces and organize strategies of resilience in the face of the urgency of the present, as well as the future. These territorial reports will be released in a booklet format in order to share best practices, lessons and new strategies.

We'd like to share some of these experiences of hope and resilience:

• “We have seen many gestures of solidarity from families and of those who collaborate in the delivery of resources. If a family has their meal covered already, they let us know so that we can provide that meal to others who need it." --Santo Domingo Neighborhood Commission
• “It's important to overcome these times as a network, not alone. We try to collaborate with others, daring to go through these times together. The 'now' is difficult, but there is a future to build. Our current distance is physical; however, we continue to walk alongside one another." --Youth Network
• "Our perspective is always hopeful- a stable hope, a hope that has its feet on the ground, that starts with the accompaniment through pain and joys and collectively creates strategies of resilience." ---Small Seed Early Childhood Center

February marked the arrival of two new international volunteers who will be supporting the "Help prevent violence against kids in Montevideo" project during 2020. Rocío, a sociologist from Paraguay, and Cristián, a social worker from Chile, got to work getting to know the local context and forming the strategic plan for this coming year.

All of our best laid plans were flipped on their head, however, with the arrival of the first case of COVID-19 in Uruguay on March 13th. Since then, the country has taken swift actions to diminish the spread of the virus, closing schools and non-essential businesses. Face masks are now mandatory in supermarkets and buses. Testing and contact tracing have kept the number of cases relatively low, however the economic effects have already begun to hit the most vulnerable. Studies from the national university (UDELAR) estimate that in the month of April alone, over 100,000 people fell below the poverty line, an 11.6% increase.

In the face of these new circumstances, the organizations of the Camino Nordeste Network, along with Rocío and Cristián, have reoriented their efforts toward food aid, educational support and family accompaniment. The challenges faced by the families in Municipality F range from lack of diapers to a plate of food on the table.

Local organizations and informal neighborhood networks have stepped up with impromptu soup kitchens, long distance tutoring, psyscholocial support, diverse online workshops, as well as resources against evictions. The volunteers have centralized this information into a catalogue in order to connect resources with those most in need.

In the coming months, the network and the volunteers will continue to work to meet the needs of children and teens within Municipality F, adapting our strategies to the reality of the public health crisis.