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International Projects

Project Partners: El Salvador

CURRENT PROJECTS

HURRICANE STAN RELIEF
PARTERS: CEBES AND CRUZ VERDE
Beneficiaries:
417 families who lost their homes as a result of Hurricane Stan that hit El Salvador and Guatemala in October 2005

The project works with families who lost their homes and their crops in hurricane Stan and who have since been living in emergency relief camps. The project works to provide medium term relief in the form of support for the re-initiation of agricultural production, income generation for women (purchase and distribution of traditionally woven clothing), repairs to water systems and purchase and distribution of tools and materials for home repair and reconstruction as well as basic human needs (food, water, clothing and shelter).

MONSENOR ROMERO POPULAR RESOURCE CENTRE FOR YOUTH AND CHILDREN IN TIERRA BLANCA, USULUTAN EL SALVADOR

Poverty, lack of options, and the strong influence of American mass culture often drive young El Salvadorians into gangs, where they are exposed to a violent lifestyle. The Monseñor Romero Popular Resource Centre is a community centre designed to address poverty and violence by providing programs and a place to stay for youth at risk of becoming victims of criminal activity and gang violence. The population in Tierra Blanca suffers from a lack of social programming and from an inadequate education system that leaves many youth unable to become productive members of society.

The project offers educational programs in culture, sports, vocational / computer skills, literacy, health promotion and early childhood development. The project seeks to shape the lives of children and youth in meaningful ways and to reduce their involvement in criminal activity and violence. Involvement with the Centre provides youth with an positive environment where they can develop new skills and envision better futures for themselves.

This project receives support from a Wild Rose Foundation grant.

PAST PROJECTS

La Maroma Cooperative / Pastoral Social Action Team of the Zona Costa Region

The La Maroma Cooperative has its origin in the Salvadorean government's agrarian reform plan from 1980. The mandate of the cooperative is to work for the economic and social well-being of its members, to practice agriculture in an environmentally sustainable manner, and to promote co-ops in El Salvador.

The cooperative also receives planning and implementation support from the Pastoral Team of the region. The Pastoral Team offers expertise to the cooperative in areas of conflict resolution and strategic planning, and plays an important role in facilitating communication between the cooperative and outside agencies, largely as a result of the co-ops isolation in terms of phone and mail.

The cooperatives in the region have been quite active in the area of community development. This has been as a direct result of measures that were taken to counteract the effects of El Salvador's civil war and natural disasters such as hurricanes and flooding. One of the cooperatives, Nueva Esperanza, was awarded a prize by the UNDP as a model of community development.

Since 1991, Change for Children Association (CFCA) has worked with the cooperatives in the Zona Costa region of El Salvador. Our first contact was with the cooperative of Nueva Esperanza, which was formed that year by refugees returning from Honduras. We facilitated a number of projects to help get Nueva Esperanza established, including production projects and the purchase of a school bus and a tractor. In addition, CFCA provided relief assistance to the co-op after flooding wiped out their newly planted crops in 1992. After Nueva Esperanza was on its way to self-sufficiency, CFCA began working with two of the other cooperatives in the region La Maroma and Nancuchiname. Recent projects included crop diversification in Nancuchimane and Hurricane Mitch relief for Nueva Esperanza. In 1995, CFCA funded an initial organization, capacitation and production project with La Maroma, and an irrigation project in 2001.

Monsenor Romero Popular resource centre for youth and children in Tierra Blanca, Usulutan El Salvador