Ciudad Guayana, Venezuela is made up of two smatter cities, Puerto Ordaz and San Felix. My husband and I are staying in the poorer of the two, San Felix. Cuidad Guayana was founded in the 50’s as a mining town. Everyone who moved to Guayana came to work in the mines or help build them but after the construction of the mines was completed, many were left job less. Puerto Ordaz is a very modern city with malls, theme parks and many other modern day conveniences. San Felix is much poorer then puerto Ordaz and has high unemployment rates. Father Greg Schaffer predicts the unemployment rate in his congregation to be as high as 70%.
Another thing plaguing the inhabitants of ciudad Guayana is HIV. the HIV rate is very high in this city. Many contribute the high HIV rate to the machismo culture that encourages men to sleep around. Ciudad Guayana is very distinct because, for unknown reasons, the male/female ratio is very unbalance. There are many more women here then men which makes it easier for men to have many partners which leads to the spread of disease. This also means that most mothers here are single and have to support their families by themselves. I hope to find out more about the lives of women in this region and gain a better understanding of the gender roles here.
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