For 27 years, Evelia Silva has sold tereré from her stall in the heart of Encarnación’s Plaza de Armas. Now 72, the mother of eight reflected on her journey as a single parent in an interview with ABC Color on Mother’s Day.
Silva, a native of the Ita Paso neighborhood, raised her children alone after separating from her second partner due to domestic violence. “I couldn’t take the violence anymore, so I had to leave him and continue on my own,” she said. Her first marriage also ended for the same reason. Four of her children are from her first husband; the other four from her second.
Despite the hardships, Silva expressed pride that all her children now have their own families and have become lawyers, hairdressers, and honest workers. “It’s not easy to raise children,” she acknowledged, but she thanked God for the strength to persevere.
Silva emphasized the importance of nutrition and communication in parenting. “Today, people don’t worry about feeding children well, that’s why they get sick so often,” she said. She also warned against the overuse of cellphones as a substitute for parental attention, noting that it harms children.
Her daily routine began at 4 a.m. to prepare meals for her children. Now, she tends to her three dogs. “I am poor, I lived on a farm, so I got used to waking up early,” she said. Her message to new mothers: dialogue and communication are crucial tools for raising healthy children.