Vision: To see lives transformed by God’s love, respecting human dignity in a society where HIV/AIDS is a reality.

Mission: To join efforts in favor of people affected by HIV/AIDS in Paraguay.

Foundation: The Golden Rule: “Do to others what you would have them do to you.” Matthew 7:12

 

How and when has Alto Refugio Foundation come to start?

Alto Refugio is a non-governmental organization that works in favor of people living with HIV/AIDS. Committed to its vision of seeking the integral restoration of PVV (people living with HIV, Spanish acronym).

Aiming to eradicate discrimination towards people living with HIV, giving accurate and precise information, encouraging people to respond with solidarity to the great need that a lot of people living with HIV face in Paraguay.

In order to understand how this ministry started it is necessary to go back to the nineties. When Pastor David Schmidt together with his wife Judit developed his pastoral ministry in Juan Manuel Frutos (Pastoreo), they met a woman who gave her life to Jesus when she had unexpectedly lost her four-month-old son. Undoubtedly, that situation had been tremendously difficult for Alicia.

Alicia’s life took a great turn and she became very helpful in the ministry for the Schmidt couple in Pastoreo.

Later, Alicia and the Schmidt couple rejoined in the missionary work. This time in the city of Mariano Roque Alonso, where they worked together in founding a church.

In May 1997 Alicia had some health problems and was hospitalized. At that time, she was informed about a diagnosis not easy to assume or face. She had been diagnosed with HIV/AIDS.

But Alicia knew how to deal with different situations by remaining firm in her faith in Jesus Christ, taking the decision of facing the situation publicly, revealing her diagnosis and talking openly about her condition. Soon the media echoed her testimony which later opened doors in different institutions to talk about the truth of HIV/AIDS, proposing as an effective way of prevention, sexual abstinence and conjugal fidelity.

In many occasions Alicia had to be hospitalized for health complications, which did not represent a limitation for her to continue sharing Jesus’ love to people that were hospitalized together with her.

Alicia understood that her life was kept safe in God’s hands and her HIV diagnosis or any other situation that she faces would not separate her from her Lord.

With this firm conviction Alicia entered the presence of the Lord in September 1998. Not before leaving her legacy in the hearts of the Schmidt couple like a seed that was sown in good soil, it sprouted and until today, after almost two decades, it continues to bear fruit.