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A Vouchers for Work programme will benefit some 1,000 Guaraní families affected by an excessive drought in the municipality of Yacuiba, located within the Tarija department.
In the city of Yacuiba, the WFP representative, Paolo Mattei, accompanied by the Development Secretary of the Autonomous Regional Government of El Chaco, Marcial Rengifo Zeballos, announced the launch of a Vouchers for Work programme. The programme will benefit 1,000 Guaraní families in 18 communities in the municipality of Yacuiba (Tarija). These families were severely affected by the droughts of the previous season and are in the process of trying to recover their livelihoods. WFP had previously launched a similar program in the municipality San Julián, which has been highly successful. During the announcement, the beneficiaries of the Guaraní community were pleased with the functionality of the programme, which allows them to use their vouchers to purchase a variety of products. On behalf of the Guaraní people, the community leader of the Igua Yaku area, Jorge Mendoza, expressed that this is an unprecedented opportunity that has been presented to their people. The programme provides his and other communities with access to food that was otherwise unobtainable due to the loss of their crops during the excessive drought. Another benefit of the programme is that it encourages unity; many of the families within the community would have had to migrate in order to find temporary work had it not been for the WFP programme.
