Nuevo Amanecer

This morning we were able to visit a community center in San Salvador called Nuevo Amanecer. The agency is doing some really cool stuff in terms of outreach and engagement with the community. Some of the activities/areas of service include a child development center (equipped with a volunteer social worker), an organic garden to supply additional vegetables for the meals that are served through the agency, outreach with persons living with HIV/AIDS, and micro-finance activities for small business owners such as the production of soaps and environmentally friendly shampoos and conditioners.

When we arrived at the center, they were having a farewell party for one of their volunteers. They also had several other volunteers who have been living in El Salvador and doing social work and teaching at the center for the past few years. When we arrived today, one of the social workers became very emotional and noted that she has found such a passion for this country, for its people, and for bringing about restorative justice. She was very excited to see an interest in El Salvador from other persons in the USA-we were very blessed to be able to hear some of her story and to be able to spend some time with the kiddos as well. We were able to dialogue about how discipline is provided to children at the center, how prevalent the cases of child abuse, and about how children with different learning styles are accommodated. To all of the teachers in my family reading this, you will be interested to note that there were many similarities between education in the USA and in El Salvador. "Agreements" are posted in each classroom, somewhat like a learning contract, discipline is based on these agreements and is posted in each room. Additional discipline includes time outs, group consensus on additional punishment, and involvement and engagement of parents into the strategies laid out in the classroom. Further, for early childhood education, the day is structured into centers focusing on fine and gross motor development and dramatic play. The kids were very excited to see us and we had a great time playing with them on the playground. It is amazing how the language barrier evaporates when playing with kids. Despite so many differences, kids are still kids...with the same needs and hopes....and when it comes down to it...they simply want to have fun and be loved.

Child Welfare

Today we visited the Institute for the Protection of Minors and got to take an inside look at the working of the child welfare system of El Salvador. During the day we learned that the majority of the children who come to this facility are either juveniles who are involved with the criminal justice system, children who have experienced great trauma in the form of sexual, physical, and psychological abuse, or those who are estranged from their families. Children with severe developmental disabilities are also included in the population served by these agencies. Further, the agencies who are a part of this continuum accept children who are as young as only 3 days of age all the way through adolescent aged children. Over the past year, the centers have assisted over 2,000 children. Currently, within El Salvador, 40% of the population is under the age of 18. Take this factor and couple it with the extreme poverty and social isolation and you begin to understand why the rate of violence in the country is so high.

The director of the centers noted that of the 4,000 children who either sought refuge or were dropped off to the agency, 15% had attempted to come to The United States and were turned away. As a result, the agencies within El Salvador have been trying to serve as many as possible on VERY limited resources. To shed some perspective on this, the director noted that only 14.5 million dollars has been allocated from the government of El Salvador to the issue of child welfare (including administrative dollars)....FOR THE ENTIRE COUNTRY!!!! These are the only funds that the agencies receive. They are interested in looking to international aid for to supplement these funds, but acquiring new dollars requires quantifiable data sets that the agencies do not yet have (but are trying to acquire). They are increasing advocacy efforts within their governmental structure, but meanwhile, the staff are doing the best they can with the resources that they have. The majority of the staff at this agency make well under $500/month....all the while providing some of the most difficult direct client/service work imaginable. Further, the institutes employ over 1,300 workers, even more than the government of El Salvador. Yet none of this impacts the amount of funding available.

It makes me wonder why injustice such as this goes unnoticed and without mention. We drive our mini-vans and SUV's home to a cookie-cutter subdivision and go about our daily routine without any thought or concept to conditions in our areas of the world. Children are suffering and agencies who are trying to manage this problem can not be supported even to address the current situation, let alone make any real progress in education and support to prevent further incidence simply due to resource allocation. This all makes me think back to that $12.5 million/day shelled out by the US government during the civil war in El Salvador. What would that kind of funding mean again to this country?? Perhaps instead of promoting violence, these dollars could finally begin to fund the restorative work of peace and of social justice.

Pro-Busqueda

In the morning we went to Pro-Busqueda, which is an agency that helps to re-unite children from the El Salvadoran civil war with their families of origin. During the civil war in El Salvador (1980-1992), the military of El Salvador sought to exterminate the land of the indigent peasant persons. These individuals had been so oppressed by their government and through colonization that they were trying to reclaim their voice and fight for basic civil liberties such as a fair wage for work, the opportunity to own and to claim the land on which they worked, and to have education and health for their families. The military of the El Salvadoran government had been corrupt for many years as a dictatorship. Then, the corruption continued even as a democracy and military power and presence continued to grow through financial aid of The United States government, specifically the Reagan Administration. As a result, the people of El Salvador were terrorized, raped, and tortured. All of this was done under the false-pretense of eradication of "Communism." What actually happened was that the country experienced conditions similar to genocide thanks in part to the $1.5 million dollars/day that was pumped into the country from the USA. The war lasted an agonizing 12 years.

The government of El Salvador would raid the countryside and stalk and murder families that were a part of the resistance, also known as Guerilla movement. When the parents of the children had been imprisoned or tortured, the government would take the children away from them and would bring them to camps or hospitals. The military would either give the children away to other military members or they would sell the children into adoptions. The bulk of the children were sold (around $20,000/per child) to families within the USA through adoptions. The government of El Salvador pocketed these dollars and turned the trafficking of children into a lucrative business. Pro-Busqueda estimates that 5,000 children were sold via adoption into the USA alone. The adoptive families were told that the parents of the child(ren) had died in the war. The children were re-programmed to forget their lives, their names, and their heritage. It wasn't until a few years ago and the dedication of a priest, Padre Jon Cortina, and others that the search for these missing children was brought to light. Pro-Busqueda works very hard to assist families in El Salvador with the search for their missing child or to assist persons who were adopted who are seeking to reconnect with their families of origin. The work that they do is unbelievably difficult and is so critical to the healing process within this country. The effects of the civil war still permeate this country and will not soon be forgotten.

The website for Pro-Busqueda is: www.probusqueda.org.sv

Monsenior Romero

"If they kill me, I will resurrect among the Salvadoran people."

Monsenor Oscar Romero (August 15, 1917-March 24, 1980)

Monsenor Romero was many things to the Salvadoran people. He was a leader, a man of God, and a visionary for change, hope, and for civil rights. His unbelievable assassination wounded the Salvadoran spirit, but it did not stop the quest for justice. Rather, many chose to rise up against the injustice on account of the despicable acts committed against those who spoke truth and who pursued a better way of life. Monsenor Romero's untimely death served as a catalyst for the Salvadoran people. His legacy continues to live on throughout El Salvador and in the spirit of those who pursue justice and the promise of peace.

El Jabali

Today we went to visit a coffee co-operative in the mountains of El Salvador. We had an opportunity to meet with Miguel, who is one of the administrators of the co-op. He took us around and showed us the operation and provided a detailed description of how the organic, fair-trade coffee is grown, harvested, and prepared. The entire experience was extremely eye-opening. I have such a new found appreciation for my morning "Cup of Joe."

The trip up the mountain/volcano took over an hour. The roads up the mountain were single lanes of dirt with very tight curves and twists. Cattle, dogs, tree roots, and children were everywhere. Along this road were different communities and homes of peasant farmers. Once arriving at the coffee co-op, Miguel explained that we were 9,000 feet above sea level. We were hardly even half-way up the mountain!!! He explained that the actual coffee plants were still another hour up the volcano as that is where the really good soil can be found. Workers during the harvest make that drive daily, and then when the road ends, they walk a while further to spend all day picking the berries. When the day is done and their packs are full, they then hike the packs down the mountain several miles to the road where the truck can pick them up. The berries then go through a very detailed process of removing the casing of the berry, cleaning the seeds of the "honey" surrounding them, processing the berries, and then drying the berries outside under direct sun for a period of time. The beans are then greenish in color until they are roasted in a machine that fills the building with thick smoke and heats to over 400 degrees. Then the beans can be weighed, measured, and packed and sealed. Our group packed over 200 pounds of coffee that afternoon in a concrete room where the temperature was well over 90 degrees.

WE WERE EXHAUSTED!!

The amount of time and the science behind making the perfect cup of coffee is more then I ever knew. From this experience I see and acknowledge the implications for buying coffee from a relation-based enterprise. The sales from the coffee are put directly back into the business and also provide income for many others like Miguel and his family. Even with the income that Miguel receives from the coffee co-op, he and his family are still living in deep poverty and isolation-issues unmatched and unknown to persons living within The United States. There is such value in knowing where our goods in the United States come from, where our money is being spent, and knowing the the impact of those dollars. We live in a global economy and today I saw first-hand how connected we really are. For me, going to Meijers and buying coffee is no longer an activity that I will do in isolation. The impact of that one transaction has impacts that reaches as far as a tiny community on a volcano in rural forgotten El Salvador. Today was a great honor to meet Miguel and his family and to be so graciously welcomed into their home and into their story.

At last....after about 3 hours of work...a hard earned cup of 100% organic, fairly-traded, El Salvadoran coffee courtesy of the El Jabali Coffee Co-Operative.

This is the processing structure at the co-op. Miguel noted with pride that this technology and equipment was valued just over $40,000.

* The best coffee house ever*

Pictures from the visit with Maria

This is the view from Maria and Suzannah's home, looking out over the volcano.















Maria and her family and some of us after lunch.




















El Bano.

Maria Remberta

This afternoon we went to visit Maria Remberta for an authentic Salvadoran meal. Maria lives in an extremely rural impoverished area. We actually dined at her daughter Suzannah's home. Maria is the matriarch of the home and is surrounded by her children, their spouses, and her grandchildren. The ride to Maria's home took well over an hour and required travel on highways, side-streets, and clay roads through the mountains. The home that we visited does not have running water or electricity and is surrounded by chickens, dogs, and a majestic beauty that stills the soul. The inequity in resource allocation is beyond fathom. Here there is no set definition of success and life is described by the everyday task of meeting basic needs. Yet, God's presence surrounded and permeated the entire day. It was a rare and intimate privilege to be able to experience the life of Maria's family and to settle into the tension of true global poverty.