Know Who We Are

We are a private non-profit organization created in Paraguay in 1985. The word DEQUENÍ comes from the syllables extracted from the biblical passage of the Apostle Mark. (Dejad que los niños vengan a mí, Spanish for Let the Children Come to Me. Mark. 10,14).
Our story began when a small group of young people from the Schoenstatt Apostolic Movement started their activities at the Medalla Milagrosa Church in the City of Fernando de la Mora, Paraguay. They served afternoon snacks and catechesis to working children. Thirty-three children appeared on the first call. Then, more people joined this initiative, and more programs for children were added: a nursery school, pre-school, work with families and at communities in extreme poverty.

Our Values:

Our work is based on values of Love, Solidarity, Participation, Service, and Honesty.

2005: On this year, we created the Right to Education Project in the cities of J. Augusto Saldívar and Caaguazú; it benefits 400 children and their families, and a community development project in the town of Arroyos y Esteros. In addition, this year DEQUENI is implementing the program ABRAZO (which means “Hug”), a national government project. In the field of events, the Bread and Wine Dinner is held in the cities of Caacupé and Ciudad del Este.

Mission

Dequení is a foundation that brings programs for children, families, and communities to help them overcome extreme poverty by promoting self-management and encouraging a broad current of solidarity.

Vision

Dequení is an organization that creates awareness in people and channels a broad current of solidarity toward the poorest individuals, families, and communities in the country by providing them specific opportunities to become integrated to the formal society, being actors of their own development and improvement of the quality of their lives and the society.

Our objectives

To provide programs and opportunities to children, teenagers, families, and communities with low incomes, so that through self-management, they succeed in improving their standard of living.
To develop the Culture of Solidarity, so that all individuals, from their area of influence, become protagonists of social development.
The foundation is inspired by a spirit of evangelization that has the purpose of incorporating into all of its actions the universal values of the Catholic Religion.

DEQUENÍ is managed by a Board of Directors as follows

Monsignor Claudio Giménez, Pastoral Director

Mr. Alberto Gross Brown, Chairman

Mr. Alberto Sallustro, Vice-Chairman

Mr. Miguel Fuentes, Treasurer

Mr. Osvaldo Fernández, Secretary

Regular Directors

Mrs. Laura Ivonne de Sallustro

Mr. Fernando Talavera

Members of the Executive Board

Mrs. Cynthia Bendlin

Mr. José Lima

Mr. Juan Pecci

Mr. Roberto Fariña

General Coordination

Mrs. Andreza Ortigoza de Medina