Personal - "1811. A Call to the Past"

For the national collection that TECHO carries out every year, with the help of Oniria/TBWA, the organization called on Argentine photojournalist Rodrigo Abd, two-time Pulitzer Prize winner, to portray the housing reality of the settlements that will be helped this year. Abd's photos will reach the streets of Asunción in the form of public roads and will turn the city into a photo gallery so that citizens are aware and witness how thousands of Paraguayan families live without decent housing. “This is not a peaceful way to live” and “Living like this is a battle” are the concepts that TECHO and Oniria want to share through the lens of Rodrigo Abd.

Paraguay has been at peace for a century, with a stable economy for almost a decade, but the conditions in which thousands of families living on Guaraní soil live still look like the ruins of a war. With that brief as a basis, Oniria\TBWA and its client TECHO decided to invite Argentine photojournalist Rodrigo Abd, two-time Pulitzer Prize winner (2013 and 2023) for his coverage of the civil war in Syria and the Russia-Ukraine conflict, to be part of this year's campaign.

Abd toured the most popular settlements in the country seeking to portray the housing situation that exists and thus make visible some areas that are invisible to the eyes of the Paraguayan people.

During the launch of the campaign held at TECHO offices, Claudia Neumann, executive director of the organization, said: “With this campaign we want to invite everyone to face the harsh reality that thousands of people in poverty live with: without basic services, with unsafe housing and in places that look like ruins of a war. We want to share the message that this is not living in peace. At TECHO, we believe that we cannot look the other way. We call on people to join us, either as volunteers or through a donation, to continue building together the society we want.”

With the messages “Living like this is a hard battle” and “This is not living in peace”, the photographer’s powerful images support the campaign that TECHO presented this Wednesday, August 14, within the framework of the TECHO 2024 National Collection.

Rodrigo Abd visited the settlements: Barcelona II, Kuña Pyapy Mbarete, Tierra Prometida and María Guadalupe, where he portrayed the lives of families on a daily basis. In the images you can see spaces that really look like war zones, where decision and oblivion are really noticeable. Since last Wednesday, digital spaces were made available on public roads in Asunción to project the campaign photos, which will also be seen on the TECHO website and social networks.

Among other actions, the campaign includes a documentary that will show Abd’s journey and his photographs, as well as testimonies from the residents of the popular settlements about the situation of their homes and the change that TECHO generates in their lives.

More than 300 new houses

TECHO has been working in Paraguay for 16 years, implementing community development programs and building emergency housing in conjunction with the residents of the settlements of Central, Caaguazú, Itapúa and Alto Paraná. It has built 8,870 emergency homes in more than 300 communities in the country, with the participation of more than 115,000 volunteers.

TECHO is supported 100% by the contributions of individuals and companies that share its mission of building a more just and poverty-free society. The fundraising goal for this year is more of USD 100.000, with which it is planned to complete the construction of 330 homes and the implementation of 14 community infrastructure projects (roads, public lighting, dining halls, plazas, infrastructure improvements, etc.) that aim to transform the lives of 10,000 people. Another goal is to involve more than 12,000 young people in the different volunteer activities.

For the National TECHO 2024 Collection, scheduled for Friday, September 6 and Saturday, September 7, more than 8,000 young people will be stationed at 120 traffic lights in the Central department (Asunción, Fernando de la Mora, San Lorenzo and Luque) and at 48 traffic lights in Alto Paraná (Ciudad del Este, Hernandarias, Minga Guazú and Presidente Franco). Anyone who is 15 years old or older and wants to participate can register through the website: www.TECHO.org.py

Since the launch of the 2024 campaign, it is now possible to make donations through www.TECHO.org.py.