A heartbreaking picture of a poverty-stricken girl on her hands and knees drinking from a PUDDLE is shocking people across the globe.
The youngster and pals are said to beg for money during the day in the city of Posadas in the north-east of the South American country.
Voluntary worker Migue Ríos started a national debate which has now crossed the borders of his native Argentina after posting the picture – taken by a local journalist – on his Facebook page.
“We must be doing something wrong as a society, mustn’t we?
“So that we finally start talking as a society about a problem which we often don’t do anything about because no-one highlights it, while those who should do something just carry on lining their pockets.” Today local news website Misiones Online explained the story behind the photo, revealing it had been taken by one of its reporters during a heatwave in the centre of Posadas, around 1pm on Wednesday.
“The journalist, who lives in the area, is used to seeing these sorts of scenes but he got out his camera and sent the photo to colleagues to see if more could be done to help them.
“Another colleague shared the images with a group of friends who managed to get together things for them including bottled water.
“Municipal and provincial governors help them on repeated occasions, even taking them back to the villages they come from, but they usually end up returning a short while later to beg for money again.” The photo has prompted a wave of anger and soul-searching among the thousands of people who have shared it online.
Ana Mari Gimenez Pons wrote: “I would be ashamed if I were a millionaire boasting about my luxury lifestyle while others die of hunger.” Tamara Lamirona added: “Put yourself in the place of that little girl and what she must fell or imagine your children in that situation!
!” The Guarani are a group of culturally related indigenous peoples of South America.