Civil association

The Civil Association Colony Friesland was established together with the community, which was built up by settlers for civil purposes. In most cases, the members of the Association are also members of the Cooperative Friesland. This organization is co-chaired by the president of the cooperative. The costs of the social facilities are borne by contributions from the members. While the cooperative is responsible for the business, the Civil Association is responsible for the cultural and social aspects.

The objectives of the Civil Association are based on mutual support, promotion of education in the Christian sense, stabilization of social work, promotion of economic development of members, cooperation in development in neighborhood cooperation and support in education for youth and adults.

The areas managed under the Civil Association are as following:

In this department, citizens are offered a wide range of books, cards, CDs and table games for purchase. There is also the possibility to borrow books for a small fee. In cooperation with the state and other colonies, the post office is also run here.

In the early years, the new settlers of the Friesland Colony joined together to form two large school communities in order to reduce maintenance costs through centralization. Thus, classes in the schools in Central and in Großweide could start already in April 1938. The children received regular lessons in their mother tongue and an orderly Christian education. Compulsory education was set at six years and adapted to the Paraguayan school system.

But the conditions for the students were difficult. They had no possibility of transportation and therefore had to walk a long distance every day in the great heat. Given these facts, the decision was made to build schools in the individual villages (the so-called “village schools”). In 1965, Friesland had six schools.

However, this decentralization soon caused new difficulties. As the number of pupils became smaller due to emigration, it was not always possible to have every grade. In addition, teachers often felt overwhelmed when they had to teach all six classes in one room. After much discussion among parents, teachers and administrators, the General Assembly came to the decision to once again centralize the school system. In 1974, this “centralized school” (Mittelpunktschule) project was launched. During the construction of the new school building, they received both financial and material support from the ZfA (Zentralstelle für Auslandschulwesen) from Germany.

After these initial difficulties, the educational system in Friesland rapidly improved. Practical recognition and partial integration into the national school system began for Friesland as early as 1958. In that year, the Colony Office achieved the requested approval of the curriculum of the Central School. Two years later, the 9th grade of secondary education was accredited by the Ministry of Education. Then, in 1992, the 10th grade was accredited by the same government institution. In 2001, the 5th course of the “Ciclo Bachillerato” was conducted for the first time and then in 2002, the first 12th grade, with a total of five students, completed their school career in their home colony.

For many years now, much has been done privately to promote music in the colony. In 2008, the Music Promotion Circle was founded. A few years later, in May 2014, the Conservatory “Canzone” was approved by the Ministry of Education and Culture and has since been the official institution for music promotion in Friesland.  The CANZONE Conservatory serves to promote music education in Friesland in various forms, as long as it is in accordance with the etic and moral principles of the institution and community. Here, piano, guitar, flute, organ, flute, violin, percussion as well as voice training and children’s choir, among others, are taught by various teachers. Students enrol for the instruments and then teachers are recruited to teach them.

The conservatory currently offers examinations in piano and music theory in the Friesland Colony with professional examiners. The aim of the conservatory is to give practical and theoretical music lessons in instrumental and vocal music, to promote musical creativity, inspiration and initiative, as well as personality development and also early musical education.

1. Social work

The responsibility of social work is shared by the communities and the administration of the colony. It is carried out by employed social workers and a social committee. This has a positive impact on the community. People work with the elderly, provide help and advice in various emergency situations, care for the mentally ill and support individuals. It also promotes awareness of intercultural coexistence and cooperation with various institutions, such as municipalities, schools, hospitals, etc

2. Retirement and nursing home

Members of the Friesland Colony have the opportunity to spend their retirement in the retirement home “Abendruh”. The current retirement home building was inaugurated in 1994. For some years now, senior citizens who are completely dependent on the care of others have also been cared for here.

In the colony there is a representation of the national police, who intervene in case of thefts, robberies and other incidents. The public order office is responsible for internal colony problems and traffic regulation. A civic association, called the Junta Comunal de Vecinos, is the extended arm of the district administration in the colony.

The task of the DEC (“Departamento de Comunicación”) is internal and external communication. This includes, among other things, providing a local, national and international information service to the citizens and residents of the Friesland Colony.

1. Newsletter

The goals of the monthly newsletter are to inform citizens about events in the colony, to promote education and the transmission of values, and to provide an opportunity to publish opinions on a particular subject. Reports are made both by the cooperative branches and by the departments of the Civil Association. An editorial team plans the issue each month and is responsible for publishing it.

View current issue here

2. Radio Friesland

Since 2006 there is a local radio station in Friesland. This initiative was born out of the need for better and faster communication. Local, national and international news can thus be brought quickly among the citizens. In addition to this information service, the station offers various programs for children, women and adults, as well as a wide selection of music.

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3. Instagram & Facebook

For some years now, Friesland has also been present on Instagram and Facebook. The communication team uses these two channels mainly to reach the younger generations, but also the international followers.

Since its foundation, the Friesland Colony has already carried out several projects of neighborhood cooperation. The aim of these projects is to improve relations with the neighbors and to support them in their economic development. Through one of the first projects, the village of “San Alfredo” was founded in 1965. At that time, 72 families were settled on a piece of land owned by Friesland and were accompanied for years with agricultural advice, credit and medical care. In the early 90’s the village “Colonia Amistad” was founded, where about 80 families were given a livelihood. Later, another project was started for small farmers in the villages of “San Alfredo”, “Ríos Rugua” and “Costa Tapiracuai”.  Since 2002, COVESAP has been working in nine villages with about 700 families. The aim is to improve living conditions in the region by providing agricultural advice, loans, joint marketing, medical care, capacity building for self-management and support for education.

The Carolina Cooperative was founded on February 7, 2009, within the framework of the COVESAP program. This creation in the field of self-management was the result of a long process of education and training in the cooperative. The cooperative is located in the town of Carolina, in the district of Itacurubí del Rosario.

1. Pension Fund

Since 2007, Friesland has had a pension fund. With this pension fund, citizens can plan for a better retirement. The pension is a regularly paid income, which is invested by the voluntary programmed savings of the members, i.e. one pays a part of his income into a savings account, which is paid back in monthly installments over 15 years from the age of 65.

2. Mutual aid for vehicles (AMAF)

Mutual Assistance for Vehicles is a service division of the Civil Association in which vehicles are fully insured, i.e., liability, vehicle and theft insurance. All members are allowed to claim this service.

3. Mutual aid in case of illness (Mutual de Ayuda Hospitalaria)

Since 1991, the Mutual Aid for Diseases has existed for the citizens of the Friesland Colony, covering the medical expenses of its members.

4. Levy system

Since the founding of the colony, various community facilities were built and maintained. The funds for this were contributed by the members, initially in the form of material and labor contributions (coal mines and coulters), and later in the form of financial contributions. In the course of time, a system of contributions obligatory for the members developed. The aim of the levy system is to collect and responsibly manage the contributions for the colony’s budget.