We are in Solidarity and Present with the people in El Salvador

Our South Bay Sanctuary Covenant (SBSC) 2010 Delegation Presente in Cabanas.

We are humbled and grateful for the opportunity this week to show our solidarity with the people of El Salvador.

As we go back home

With wishes of safe travels from El Salvador, we reflected together on an inspiring week of hope and community organizing to continue the important work of social, economic and environmental justice and peace.

We shared the following song as we started our packing to go back to the US after a fruitful and insightful week together in solidarity:

We will go,
From this home,
To the world
Hand in Hand.

More Reflections about being in Solidarity

As we are enjoying a moment of relaxation and fun at the beach in the wonderful waves, enjoying the pool, the views, the conversations or relaxing in the hammock. 

We also join in as a group to reflect on our week and what we personnally are taking with us as we now have been in solidarity with the people in El Salvador, in their struggles and seeing the progress and being inspired by their continued work through community and activism to bring justice across their communities.

Sat March 27, leaving COO, a wonderful time at the beach

Saturday morning was bittersweet for me-- saying goodbye to my host-family and heading to the beach. I was sad to leave my family because I, like everyone else in our group, really started to feel close to my new mother, brothers, sisters, cousins, and neighbors.   I managed to wake up fairly early to watch my brother milk the cows and help my sisters make tortillas. My tortillas were holey, lopsided, and tough compared to theirs but we had so much fun making them together.

After leaving La Canoa we headed to the beach. The weather and water were perfect for us to unwind at the beach. Geoff, Nicole, and Jesse led one of our final reflections together and I was able to engage in some very meaningful conversation with Rebbecca, Emily, and Katie. I have resolved, after our discussion and, in reflection on the whole trip, to keep a strong connection to my host family, the people of El Salvador, and their struggles. I am so lucky to have received all of the information, welcome, and kindness that Salvadoreans offered us. I feel a significant and empowering obligation to repay their love in every small way I can: not just to offer the same hospitality and awareness to others and to advocate for El Salvador, but to fight for peace everywhere.

We headed off to the airport to say drop off some members of our delegation and then returned to San Salvador to shop! Collette arranged an artisan fair: a number of her friends, all talented artisans, brought their art to show us. I bought gifts for my family, now that I've had the chance to give them away, I can tell you that my family loved them.

All in all, a perfect end to our trip!

--Naomi

Reflections - a poem about hope, solidarity and the tree

As I gazed at the monument of monstrosity,
my heart began to melt.

The rays of hopelessness and horror began to beat down
and as I began to frown
you, mother willow gave me shade.

You stood there, stoic and poised
Your roots ran deep and your gnarled branches
testified to you strength.

You beat back the heat
with your maternal covering
as you began to cool me with
the wind of your soothing words.
"yes its muy triste,
but this is not the end.

At the wall, is where the story begins"
I looked up and took off my shades
as the blinding intensity was replaced with
your rings.

Both a testament to your wisdom
and the Vitality that
Tomorrow brings.

She Continued.

" Mis amigos, familia, hermanos, and padre all
have a place on this wall, mejo...
But the strength of the human spirit
will never fall."

"Your people in America have gone through the same,
Yet they live through you as you carry the name."
"Like romero you must continue the fight
and speak truth to power.

Shine in the midst of the night
Be the bird that sings
in the wee early hours."
"But Madre, what about his tower?"

" Esperanza! HOPE!
Your generation must be the boat, that takes us from the continent
of cruelty to community.

"In solidarity"
"Si, to be in solidarity this is what you must do
Remember that change begins with you
go back to your community and tell all that you see
Organize, mobilize
plant more seeds. "

I came to help you,
but you helped me...
only now am I ready
to be planted.
to be rooted.
to grow.

To become a tree of solidarity.

By Michael.

*Poem was inspired by a conversation had at the moment to Justice with an activist who had her brothers killed.

Friday March 26th with the COO community

A very full day! After meeting with the Women's Committee to learn about economic, health and social projects it runs, we traveled to the office of the United Communities of the Lower Lempa (ACUDESBAL). Communidad Octavio Ortiz, where we are staying, is one of 29 farming communities on the east bank of the Lempa River that banded together after the disastrous Hurricane Mitch in 1998 to lobby the government to complete flood control levees. A quarter of the missing levees are now done, and work continues. In the meantime a huge number of other projects have begun, from agricultural efforts aimed at improving diets and nutritional sovereignty, to mental health outreach to address the legacy of the war and recent issues such as the chronic renal disease plaguing hundreds of people in the region. As a returning delegate, this visit is especially inspiring because each time I see that the capacity of the United Communities to design, fund and implement projects that improve the lives of local people has grown. It's also apparent that sustaining these benefits when projects are done or funding runs out is a challenge. Nonetheless, the organization is mature enough that it has drawn several local residents that have finished college back to work there -- an inspiring achievement indeed. Helping to build and strengthen this capacity has been one of the primary activities of Voices on the Border (http://www.votb.org/), our partner NGO.


After visiting a piece of primary forest (one of the few remaining in El Salvador) near the Lempa River that ACUDESBAL is attempting to have assigned protected status, we returned to COO for a coed soccer match. We finished with a community-wide 'celebration of the word' (a form of Mass with lay leaders), many kind words and thanks for our visit, and a dance with live cumbia music performed by one of several COO bands. It was a very good day.

Chris

Thursday March 25 - Arriving in Octavio Ortiz (La Canoa)

Today we made the two hour drive to Communidad Ocatavio Ortiz.  On arrival we were greeted by the elementary school students and preschoolers each holding their own banners of welcome.  We each introduced ourselves and sang a song with the community.

We went to go see look around in the preschool and elementary school classrooms and found out that the students didn't have class that day since they had participated in a march in the morning to raise awareness of Dengue fever.  Then we were sent off in groups of 1 or 2 to go have lunch and get settled in with our host families.  All of the host families were very welcoming and cooked excellently.  After we had time to eat and introduce ourselves to our host families we had time to talk with them and we began sharing stories about our lives. 

I was in a group together with Julio and our host mother was named Guana.  She had three amazing kids named Janette, Franklin, and Jonathan.  Later that afternoon we got to meet with the Youth Committee.  This was very interesting because we got to hear more about what it was like to be a youth living in this community and we got to hear some of the projects that the youth had organized and were involved in including a new sports center for the youth within their own community.  After this we met with the Directiva who told us about the leadership and organization of the community.  Here we got to hear about the Sugar Cane Mill Project which we went to go visit during the meeting in order to see the progress that had been made on the project. Later on we had dinner together with our delegation and our host families.  After dinner it was time for reflections which gave many of the community members a chance to tell their stories or any words of wisdom to the entire delegation as a whole.  After this we went home with the host families and we went to bed after more time talking with the families.  Being with the host families was AMAZING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


-Mark