River flood devastates Guaraní school and nearby farms

Rain hammered the courtyard of the Escuela Bilingüe San Jacinto as teachers ushered children inside, their footsteps echoing against the concrete walls. The school, one of the few Guaraní-language institutions in the valley, had just finished a morning lesson on traditional songs when the sky turned black and the river swelled beyond its banks.

Within minutes, a torrent of water ripped down the narrow gully that runs behind the school, flooding classrooms, destroying stored textbooks and washing away the vegetable garden that supplies the school kitchen. Farmers from three nearby cooperatives reported that their fields were submerged, and several family farms lost livestock to the sudden surge.

Governor Lucía Báez arrived on the scene with a delegation from the Federal Office for Cooperative Affairs, promising rapid assistance and a review of the region’s flood‑alert system. The federal Treasury Minister, Marcus Eklund, announced an emergency allocation of ₣5 million to repair damaged infrastructure, while the Cooperative Council in San Vicente prepared a solidarity fund for affected families.