Getting used to the “New Normal”
The SSVP Uruguay: New Ways to Help those Most in Need amidst the Pandemic
The SSVP National Board has organized teams which are taking over senior Vincentians.
Visiting needy people has been one of the hurdles faced by Vincentians amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. Many senior Vincentians or groups at risk of contracting severe Covid-19 were immediately prevented from making visits and taking part in other SSVP activities.
The SSVP Uruguay has also confronted this problem: most Conference members in the country are at risk due to their age, so social isolation is highly recommended. Notwithstanding the situation, the members of the SSVP National Board have come up with other ways to help poverty-stricken families.
In Montevideo, the capital of the country, the National President, sister Estrella Prendez, organised a group of volunteers made up of young Vincentians and friends who took care of the senior members, visited and helped the needy families of the conferences.
“A great effort, financially and logistically, was made to keep on helping needy families. Furthermore, those Vincentians and volunteers who cannot go out on the streets during the pandemic are making face masks to be distributed to the people we visit”, said Estrella. “We know that this pandemic will last a little longer than expected; that’s why, we are looking for new ways to bring our help to those most in need“, she said.
The SSVP Uruguay currently has 10 conferences and 3 active social projects: one night shelter and two nursing homes for seniors. Fellow member Estrella Prendez was re-elected as the SSVP National President in the Oriental Republic of Uruguay for another term at the 2020 National Assembly, held on December 5th.
