March 19, 2023, 4:10 AM
March 19, 2023, 4:10 AM
This Sunday, March 19, Father’s Day is celebrated in our country. The National Institute of Statistics (INE) has not released recent data on the number of fathers in Bolivia, but statistics from 2018 indicated that there were a little more than 1.8 million throughout the country, that 70 percent lived in urban areas, that more than 61 percent were married and that the majority they had children between the ages of 20 and 50.
Regarding their marital status, the INE data indicate that less than 2 percent of dads are single and that 31.7 percent are cohabitants. Five years ago, the number of widowed parents exceeded 3 percent, while the number of separated parents reached 1.6 percent and the divorced, 0.4 percent.
Regarding occupation, the data indicated that more than 50 percent of the parents are self-employed, that is to say, he is a self-employed worker, a partner employer or employer who does not receive a salary, and a production cooperative member. A smaller percentage, 40 percent, was located in the side of the wage-earners, a category in which are the workers and employees in different areas and partners or owners of micro-enterprises or large companies.
In the Household Survey, carried out in 2016 by the INE, it was also possible to identify the work items of the parents. In the C27.9 percent work in construction and the manufacturing industry; in agriculture, livestock and fishing, 22.8 percent; They are operators of facilities and machinery, 18 percent; they are service workers and vendors, 9.2 percent; mid-level technicians, 5.8 percent; and office employees, 2.3 percent.
Why is Father’s Day celebrated?
Father’s Day It has been celebrated in our country since 1974., when the then president Hugo Banzer Suárez ordered by supreme decree that that day be dedicated to honor Bolivian parents, according to historical records of that time.
Currently, in case it falls on a working day, including Saturday, the Ministry of Labor establishes that parents enjoy half a day off.
It is important to mention that the Catholic religion pays homage on the same day to Saint Joseph, husband of the Virgin Mary and father of Jesus. That is why it is also Carpenter’s Day, job he was engaged in.
On Father’s Day, EL DEBER spoke with two dads, whose stories inspire:
Wilfredo wants to see his son healthy
\Wilfredo Fernández (37) has had his son admitted to the Oncology since Saturday, March 11 / Photo: Elizabeth La Fuente
Wilfredo Fernández (37 years old) has hospitalized his son Jhasef (7 years old) in the pediatric ward of the Oncology Institute since Saturday, March 11. In 2018, his little one was diagnosed with leukemia and had a relapse.
“What I would most like for Father’s Day is to see my son healthy. Beat this disease that we had to live. See him smile and happy.” said Wilfredo, who arrived with his wife from Tarija to treat his only son. Jhasef is currently checked every 15 days. A couple of years ago the disease was controlled with chemotherapies.
Now they both live in the “Esperanza de Vida” shelter, a place that welcomes the relatives of cancer patients. “I thank God because he has put good people on our way who help us with lodging, food and medicine,” he said while waiting for the medical section this Friday morning in one of the hospital corridors.
Sergeant Edwin Quinteros (35 years old) took a break from his daily work in the Special Force to Fight Crime (Felcc) of the Bolivian Police to attend this Friday morning, March 17, the early celebration at the San Martín de Porres, where his son Dylan (9 years old) studies.
We found him about to leave, we asked him what he will do this Sunday the 19th and he replied that “he doesn’t know if he will be free”, but if so, he will spend it at home with his children.
Dylan did not want to miss the opportunity to send a message to his dad: “Happy day dad, I love you so much.”
