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
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International Projects