Known as “The Land of Volcanoes,” El Salvador is a country full of forest-covered mountains, with beaches bordering the Pacific Ocean. It is both the smallest and most densely populated nation in Central America. With a population of 6,108,590, an estimated 36.5% of Salvadorans live below the poverty line. Many poor Salvadorans live in haphazard shacks pieced together with scraps of roofing tin, wood, and rocks that provide little protection from the elements. however in the words of Carlos Flores from the Housing Ministry in El Salvador: “Thank you Nancy and guys. We are blessing for your visit. Our people and communities took a piece of your hearts.”
We partnered with Gente Ayudando Gente on this Wellness Mission to spread health and wellness information to local communities. Funded by a grant from Isagenix -Isa Foundation, volunteers shared training in three communities including awareness of human trafficking. Here is a link to the Wellness Manual in English and Spanish .
Our teams delivered water filtration systems from Clean Water Foundation, and humanitarian donations to each community. After a great trip on AA we arrived!
Upon arrival we met with the US Ambassador to El Salvador, Ron Johnson and his wife Alina (as well as the Health Minister) who gave us a quick briefing on the corona virus. Since there are no cases in El Salvador we agreed to keep the communities we worked with calm and encouraging good health and hygiene practices. We took pictures in front of the photograph of Nayib Bukele, the friend of Airline Ambassadors and the President who is making such positive change in the country.
Soon Lisselot Troconis, of Gente Ayudando Gente arrived and we were off directly to visit Kiwanis Village, the community that we had helped to start with Armando Bukele, Nayib’s father. We were delighted to have two of the Bukele brothers join us – Ibrahim and Yusef Bukele, with his fiance Pamela Abarco. We coordinated a distribution of school supplies – joined fun activities with the kids and toured the village.
The following day we attended an interesting medical presentation coordinated by the Ambassadors wife, before departing for El Espino. This group of 65 families have been living in the middle of the street. Recently the government granted them a piece of land nearby and arranged to build homes with low cost loans of $60 per month. Our Wellness training was well received…our team did a great job thanks to the translator – Marco from Gente Ayudando Gente. Here are a few pictures from the training:
When Karen Smith began the Children’s Health songs at the end of the training, with daughter Megan playing the ukelele…we first met 16 year old Kevin who helped to play music. We learned about his plight. His mother had died four months ago, leaving Kevin to care for three siblings. He has a job at a taxi call center but this is a huge responsibility for any 16 year old. Check out short videos by clicking pictures below:
At dinner that night we discussed a plan to help raise the $720 he needed for the first years rent, Our whole team contributed and we made a plan to present him the money – Michelle Sol, the Minister of Housing agreed to join us. Thanks to Ronda Coallier we also presented him with a new phone to stay in touch with the family including his 14 year old sister Marcella, 12 year old brother Manuel and 10 year old sister Michelle. Amazingly, Kevin wants to be a PILOT, and little Michelle wanted to be just like Michelle Sol. Michelle was so touched and said she would make her Housing Minister for one day! Young Manuel cried tears of joy. See videos above for comments Nancy Rivard, Lisselot Troconis, Chris Hayes and Ronda Coallier
On Tuesday we left for Auhachapan
Gente Aydando Gente has two communities here Onofre Duran I and Onofre Duran II and built homes for 146 families. They are thriving and have already initiated a recycling and Tae Kwon Do programs. On the way we stopped to get healthy snacks!
After a great lunch we visited with the community – commented on their great recycling programs and and came upon a poor woman that had recently suffered a stroke. Offering prayers and love to her family, Lisselot was able to return with a wheelchair for her two days later!
On the way back we went through the adorable town of Ataco:
Wednesday January 29 we left for Visit Nuevo Cuscatlan Community
Nuevo Cuscatlán is a small town of just 8,000 people in the state of La Libertad. The town is located just 5 miles outside of the capital San Salvador to the southwest. The proximity to San Salvador and public transportation give the citizens of Nuevo Cuscatlán great access to a range of job opportunities which also helps with the economic stability. The area is lush and green and the town is tidy and feels separate from the busy San Salvador.
This year Nuevo Cuscatlán officially became recognized as a city! Nayib Bukele helped initiate this program when we was the Mayor of Nuevo Cuscatlan, prior to becoming Mayor of San Salvador, and now President of the country! See pics:
We were able to fund a new Culinary Center for Gente Ayudande Gente to provide job training for residents of El Espino, Auachapan and Nuevo Cuscatlan. Next was a stop to visit the new building for the school that will be operational soon!
We delivered water filter from Clean Water Foundation, hand delivered by one of our volunteers, Victoria Furman. While there we learned that James Chanais received the news that he will be a new Purser for Delta Airlines!
Check out short videos from our team on location!
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Then, the part we were all waiting for: a visit to San Vicente de Paul Home for Children (orphanage)
We hand delivered adorable Angels of Hope T shirts to every child in the orphanage and implemented a program to connect kids in El Salvador with a letter exchange with kids in the United States!
Thank you to Karen Smith as well who provided hats and bibs for 24 babies!
We can share this information with our Airline Ambassador team but we promised NOT to put any of these kids faces on social media,,,,so thank you so much for honoring that:
We made a strawberry shakes for 100+ children! They were thrilled and could not get enough!
Bottom line, despite unforeseen complications, from schedule changes to sudden sicknesses, we bonded as a dedicated group of humanitarians on a true Journey of the Heart!
The country is rising as a health and wellness destination and is the location for qualifying for the Olympics in surfing! Look for an AAI mission to Surf City in May! Stay posted
Here is some background on our efforts in El Salvador:
PEOPLE HELPING PEOPLE
Our partner is The Gente Ayudando Gente Association is a non-profit organization registered in El Salvador, San Salvador in 2009
Airline Ambassadors has quite a history in El Salvador. We began working there in 1999 and our work attracted the interest of the First Lady of the country, Senora Flores.
Airline Ambassadors began working in El Salvador in 1999
Primera Dama Flores supported our work at orphanages.
- American Airlines donated 757 in 2000
Provided Christmas parties and aid to 5 orphanages.
- Earthquake in El Salvador 2001
In 2001, a 7.7 magnitude earthquake shook the nation of El Salvador. In the month the followed, there were thousands of aftershocks, including a 6.6 magnitude earthquake exactly one month after the first. Damage was extensive. At least 1,159 people were killed, another 8,122 were injured, and 335,000 homes were damaged or completely destroyed. In addition, infrastructure, including water systems, roads, and hospitals, were badly damaged.
AAI came right back down with relief mission, bringing President of AMA and Kiwanis International Aid delivery to Refugee Camp Cafelelon.
2nd earthquake hit while we were there and as a result, we helped to get the CASA Act passed in the U.S. and El Salvador that new construction must be accompanied by proper building codes. the Casa program received Bi partisan support SAL – USA
25 Humanitarian Missions to El Salvador
Delivered wheelchairs, medicine, clothing, school supplies, vocational training & more
- Kiwanis Village
The city of Soyapango, within an hour’s drive east of the capitol city, is the second most populated area in El Salvador. Among numerous economic and other problems, the city has had a long and notorious presence of MS-13 and other gang activities, making it particularly dangerous for anyone to live there. The land was a Chatarrera, which translates to a junkyard. It was a police impound lot and most of the land was covered in piles of rusty vehicles.
On the same land were the temporary homes of 150 families, those that would eventually receive new homes. The families had all been displaced by the earthquake, several hurricane disasters, or due to various political reasons and lived in meager structures built by the army or in tents, propped wherever a piece of land could be claimed. Since there was virtually no land in the area that wasn’t either covered in scrap metal or precarious shelters, the only way to build anything was to begin a massive shuffling game of people and metal. Throughout the process, families had to be moved to other locations or live with other families in already cramped spaces. Building began and community members helped build these houses according to proper building codes:
Today the community and the people in it have come a long way. The Directiva, a local board of trustees, implements self-governance and organizes community efforts. Many women in the community have completed a training program in sewing. We also started a sewing program and delivered sewing machines so the women could learn to sew. The next phase is to develop other micro-businesses and other ways to make the community self-sustaining and give people a way to help themselves. Airline Ambassadors became involved with the Haiti earthquake and this will be our first return humanitarian initiative in the country we have grown to love.
