El Salvador initiative

The El Salvador initiative is dedicated to a long term relationship with our sister city of Llano Largo. Our main goal is to support students who desire to continue their education into high school and college. The parents in El Salvador realize the importance of education and know that it is the only way for their children to pull themselves and their families out of poverty. It is their chance for a decent job and the skills they learn will increase their ability to get involved in their own country so there is no need to migrate to another country.

Among the other costs associated with secondary schooling-such as tuition, books, and uniforms-transportation to high school or college is a real hardship for a lot of families. Most communities have local grade schools, so children have access to a primary education. High schools, however, are fewer in number and often located in other communities. There are no school buses. A typical rural high school student rises at 5:00am to the sounds of roosters. They use an outdoor latrine and clean up with a basin of “non-drinkable” water before dressing in their school uniforms. Many days, without having breakfast, they walk along a dirt road for a mile or more to catch a ride in the back of a pick up truck. The truck then takes them to the city bus which finally delivers them to school ready to start their day at 7:00. At the end of the day-often at 6:00pm the students reverse the ordeal. Transportation can cost up to $2.50 a day-paid by families that make an average of $1 to $3 a day. Our collection this week will be used to alleviate some of the transportation costs to our students families.

The initiative’s mission is to develop a long term relationship with a sister community in El Salvador and to support the high school/college scholarship program. This program, developed by CIS (Centro de Intercambio y Solidaridad/Center for Exchange and Solidarity, cis_elsalvador.org ), provides education opportunities to students that otherwise would not have the economic means to attend high school or college. This is not solely a scholarship program, but a leadership development program for youth. The students have to apply to the program and are chosen based on economic need, good grades and involvement in community social issues. Once in the program, they are required to organize monthly meetings and workshops and take on a volunteer project for the year-everything from clean-up campaigns to violence prevention workshops for other youth. The desired results are not only advanced education but social awareness, leadership development, and the youth seeing themselves as actors/actresses for change in their community and their country. One student that has the opportunity to develop these abilities can truly impact their entire community.

Guatemala Village Project

AGROS INTERNATIONAL

This year our 2006 initiative is to adopt a village in Guatemala. This August our missions team will be travelling to "El Eden" to serve through Agros International. Agros is an organization dedicated to helping villages own their own land, become financially self-sustained, and to establish their own government. The region where "El Eden" is located is one of the poorest areas in Guatemala.

New Paragraph for the Guatemala Village Project In 2006, we established a relationship with a village in north central Guatemala by helping them purchase their land and by sending a team of ten people from our church to the village for a visit. We have now committed to a five-year relationship with this village (called El Eden) to help them develop their homes, schools, and villages, and to help them establish a sustainable economy. Last year, we raised over $17,000 for this project; this year, we're hoping to raise even more! Here are a few of the fundraisers we've planned

-july21 - Cultivate benefit rock concert

Ecuador, to serve children in orphanages

Last summer a team of revolution members traveled to Ecuador, to serve children in orphanages in the cities of Quito and Riobamba. The entire trip was a blessing as our team was able to build a community center for disabled children in Riobamba, to plant a vegetable garden in an orphanage in Quito, to distribute clothing and hygiene supplies to children who desperately roam near a landfil and in orphanages in several regions. We are thankful to God for allowing us to meet and serve the children --we couldn't have chosen a better place to spend our summer at!