So I keep referring to the infamous priest/archbishop Oscar Romero, for those of you who don’t know about Mr. Man, here’s the short story:

The fourth archbishop of El Salvador, a humble Catholic priest whose attitudes on life, religion and politics were deeply altered during the Salvadoran civil war.

In 1977, a priest and good friend of Romero’s, Rutilio Grande, who had been working toward equal rights for the poor campesinos (farmers), was brutally assassinated. The government refused to investigate the murder and the press remained silent in fear. 

Grande’s murder provoked Romero to actively pursue a more just future for the poor of El Salvador. He quickly converted from a highly conservative, ‘safe’ choice for archbishop as the government had hoped for, to a radical human-rights activist. And so began his journey to promote liberation theology. 

In 1980 when armed conflict officially began in El Salvador, the civil war was claiming over 3,000 lives monthly. Cadavers clogged the streams, tortured bodies strewn about the streets of San Salvador. Romero began to speak out against these crimes against humanity, but also protested for the social justice of the poor. The government and his former bishop supporters in the church turned their backs on him and deemed him ‘politicized’, seeking popularity. The elites of the church and state felt betrayed by his promises to the poor.

But his good will couldn’t put an end to the crimes being committed. The killing continued…claiming 75,000 lives, one million fled the country, another million were left homeless, hiding from the violence of the army…in a country of less than 6 million people. But every week Romero diligently offered a homily to the people, offering hope. He could not promise that the atrocities would cease, but he could give them hope. 

Romero wrote to US President Carter in 1980 pleading him to stop sending money to fund the war. The US was sending $1.5 million dollars DAILY for 12 years to fund this war, providing arms to repress the impoverished. His letter went unanswered.

In March 1980, Oscar Romero was giving mass when he was assassinated. Shot in the heart, as he bled out in front of his people. The assassin has never been revealed. His assassination served as a warning to fellow supporters- attendees of his funeral were shot down by sharpshooters. 

Despite his death, the message of Romero endures. He was a martyr for the his cause, for his people. Thirty years later, his face and his words decorate every crevice of the country. 

“If God accepts the sacrifice of my life, may death be for the freedom of my people. A bishop will die, but the Church of God, which is the people, will never perish.”

“If they kill me, I shall arise in the Salvadorean people.”

After our conference at CIS, we headed off to lunch at a local Soy Program. Located in a neighborhood called San Ramon, we walked into a small alleyway and stumbled upon this secret gem. The program is run by a missionary by the name of Ann Grieg, who is in her sixties. She came down to Central America in her 20s with the Peace Corps, and then returned after the war as El Salvador had really “gotten under her skin.”

She is a nutritionist and came with the vision to improve the diets of the people here. She realized that most of their diets were lacking sufficient complete proteins, that we usually get from animal sources. The availability of animal proteins makes them a pricey commodity here in Central America. But…quinoa and soy are alternatives that are also complete proteins. And so began the idea of using soy as a protein source.

She spoke of how to choose a food program that would work for the people. She highlighted 3 essential factors:

1. Price. It has to be affordable. This is essential. If it breaks their budget, they will not care how healthy it is. But she also discussed that you can’t give it away for free. We’ve had this discussion in Guatemala as well, if something is free, people don’t value it. It can’t be a handout. 
2. Taste and ability to incorporate. She realized early on that she was going to have to add WAY more sugar than she had anticipated to the soy milk. Central Americans love their sugar, and if the milk was ‘bland’ or bitter for them, they wouldn’t drink it. She also creates soy flour, which can be used to make milk or used in cooking or baking. 
3. Accessibility. Apart from cost, how easy is it to obtain the product? To keep the product fresh? Each of the families has a giant jug they bring in daily to fill up with milk, and they are also provided with the soy flour. In this community, refrigeration is not available to more than half of the population so the milk has to be provided daily.

The program has been highly successful in the recovery of weight and height of children under seven years old. They also recently received a grant for 2012 which will allow them to put their soy products in a local elementary school and track the nutritional statistics in the children throughout the course of the new year. With this controlled test subject population and with the help of some public health professionals, Ann hopes that publishing these results will result in more funding in upcoming years.

As Ann grows a bit older, she has been striving to make the Soy Program sustainable should she decide to move back to the States. They have recently started a hot lunch program, which we were blessed to indulge in. They have a soy based menu, but other options available as well. From lemon chicken to spinach lasagna, no one went hungry. Following lunch we had a soy dessert and coffee treat, mixed with some of their delicious soy milk that comes in a number of flavors (strawberry, vanilla, cinnamon, chocolate..mmm)

I thought Ann was another awesome woman. Dedicating her life to a small change, but a significant one. She isn’t just working with the community of San Ramon, she has obtained some political poder (power) and gets to participate in selecting foods the country will promote in the upcoming year, in schools and otherwise. Not only is she an ingenious cook, she is a business woman as well. Scouting the globe for cheaper soy beans, figuring out how to import them without going broke. As I am considering a career in public health, her life and mission served as an excellent example for the vast possibilities in this field. 

Our first discussion as a group was with Executive Director of CIS Leslie Schuld. She is an American woman who has been living in El Salvador for the last 18 years, but has been working with the country for the better part of her life. During the civil war (1980-1992) she volunteered in the States, fighting against the war and opposing US funding of the war with an organization called CISPIS. CISPIS served to communicate to the public in the US what was really happening in El Salvador, where US funding was really going. When the war ended in 1992, the funding for this organization stopped, but the social structure of the country was still in shambles, so Leslie decided it was time to relocate.

In 1993, CIS was founded after the Peace Accords were signed in El Salvador. Leslie has been working with CIS ever since. She spoke of the truths of a country she considers her own- from corrupt politics in El Salvador, corruption contributed by the United States, the choice to change their currency to the US dollar, the unfortunate natural disasters that plague Central America as a whole, public health, economics, exploitation, violence, rich vs. poor and the distribution of wealth, gangs, the coffee industry, immigration, access to potable water, CAFTA and free trade in general, neoliberalism, our role as foreign volunteers, and working towards change, in all arenas. 

Her story gave me a first taste of the tragic and beautiful history of this country. Seeing a strong woman who has chosen to devote her life to making a change in a struggling country was inspiring, and daunting. She knows the ins & outs of the culture and the people and knows that her battle will constantly be uphill. She knows that she might not see tangible results in her lifetime, but she perseveres because it is what she believes in. Overall, it was a perfect introduction to an emotional roller coaster of a week. People like Leslie give me hope.

Here’s a little bit more about the history and mission of the program we worked with in El Salvador:

History

The CIS was founded in 1993 after the signing of the Peace Accords in El Salvador. Solidarity groups from the U.S., Canada, and Europe came together with Salvadoran popular organizations to develop a center to promote people-to-people relations after the war. The root causes of the war - economic and social injustice together with a lack of democratic openings to make change - were still present. It was agreed that continued international accompaniment and solidarity with grassroots movements for social and economic justice and participatory democracy would be needed to achieve structural changes in the post war period.

Mission

The CIS mission is to promote solidarity and cultural exchange across borders between the Salvadoran people and others in the search for development and dignity. We work to promote and strengthen a culture of solidarity that implies accompaniment, respect for equality of different cultures, and mutual support between people. We focus on using different strategies to promote a solidarity that creates the space for grassroots organizing for justice and dignity.

Objectives

• Promote people-to-people solidarity in the search for development and human dignity.
• Promote human values and cultural exchange with individuals, delegations, representatives of private organizations, and government officials in order to strengthen solidarity and understanding of Salvadoran history and culture.
• Strengthen community and integrated development programs.
• Encourage the development and commercialization of Salvadoran crafts made by cooperatives, especially by youth, women, and ex-combatants.
• Deepen awareness and promote the defense of human rights in El Salvador.

We just got back from a whirlwind of a trip to El Salvador. Traveling throughout the country learning about the healthcare system, rural community life, food, the tragic truth of the civil war, politics within the country, USAID, etc. Here is an outline of our schedule before I discuss more specifically our activities! :)

Wed 9th:

• Drive 12+ hours from Xela to San Salvador. 
• Have traditional pupusas for dinner- cheese, bean, spinach, chincharron (fried pig skin), zucchini, etc filled tortillas. 
• Avoid chincharron.

Thurs 10th: 

• Morning run around San Salvador. Get lost (whoops). Avoid telling Mom we got lost in one of the most dangerous countries in Latin America.
• Orientation- overview of history and analysis of social, political, and economic conditions of the country. Mission of the collective CIS (See link in entry below). Discussion with Executive Director.
• Lunch at Soya Program. Awesome woman from the States who now lives in El Salvador and runs a public health soy program for the community of San Ramon. Encouraging use of soy as a protein source.
• Visit to San Salvador cathedral and Oscar Romero’s tomb.
• Meeting with Doctor Virginia Rodriguez at Hospital Rosales, the only level three trauma center in the entire country.
• Friend in our group falls ill and gets rushed off to hospital. Holy parasites.

Friday 11th: 

• Visit to Oscar Romero’s home and chapel.
• Visit Parque Cuscatlan and memorial wall.
• Leave for small urban community, Estanzuelas. Meet scholarship students from La Voz del Pueblo. 
• Dinner with host families in the community. Stay the night!

Saturday 12th: More Estanzuelas

• Gender workshop and dramatic presentations with scholarship students
• High school graduation and party in the community
• Dinner and another night with families

Sunday 13th: 

• Go to various homes in the community conducting interviews of scholarship students and their families
• Soccer tournament with the students
• Hat trick!

Monday 14th: 

• Visit the National Assembly, meet representatives of both prominent political parties in El Salvador
• Listen to ARENA representative Vaquerano and become silently baffled by his ignorance
• Listen to FMLN representative and become silently impressed by his openness and honesty as a politician
• Visit to US Embassy and see carpet for the first time in 5 months
• Meet with USAID director and hear about their anti-violence program 
• Wonder where our tax dollars are really going
• Leave for ze BEACH!

Tuesday 15th:

• Free day at the beach
• Wave romping, sun bathing, attempting to surf
• Converting tide pools into personal mud baths
• Beautiful sunset con mis hermanos

Wednesday 16th: 

• Leave to a community destroyed by the civil war, Cinquera
• Oral testimony of the war with Don Pablo
• Hike in the ecological park, learning about guerrilla soldiers in the forest
• Night time dip in the waterfall

Thursday 17th: 

• Visit local health center in Cinquera; highly impressed
• Visit house of war survivor and speaker, Don Pablo
• Return to San Salvador and visit UCA, private Jesuit university
• Learn of the brutal massacre of 4 priests and two women that occurred on campus during the war
• Meet with Pauline Martin to discuss how to transfer our experiences back to the States and hope for El Salvador
• Reflection of the trip

Friday 18th: 

• 13 hours in a bus back to Xela :)

So there’s an overview of what we did this past week. Details and pictures to come.