Archive for December, 2010

Celebrating a successful 2010!

As 2010 comes to a close, SHARE is excited to be celebrating another successful year. 2010 has been full of events worth celebrating. In addition to successfully implementing eighteen projects for youth leadership development and scholarships, women’s empowerment, organic agriculture, environmental protection, and advocacy initiatives, SHARE celebrated several major advocacy victories and kept the legacy of social justice alive with two major delegations commemorating Archbishop Romero and the 4 US Churchwomen.

Here are just a few highlights from 2010:

• SHARE played key role in pressuring the Salvadoran state to apologize to the civilian victims of the civil war and ask for forgiveness for its role in Romero’s assassination for the first time since the signing of the Peace Accords in 1992.

• In March, over 50 people accompanied SHARE on a delegation commemorating the 30th Anniversary of Archbishop Romero’s assassination. Romero continues to be a pivotal figure in the fight for social justice in El Salvador. Read More »

¡Celebrando un 2010 exitoso!

Con el acercamiento del fin del año 2010, SHARE esta celebrando otro año de éxito. Este año ha estado lleno de muchos eventos dignos de celebración. Ademas de implementar diez y ocho proyectos para la juventud en el desarrollo y becas, el otorgamiento de poderes para mujeres, la agricultura orgánica, la protección del ambiente, y la iniciativa de apoyo, SHARE ha celebrado varios logros de apoyo muy importantes y ha mantenido vivo el legado de la justicia social con dos delegaciones importantes, conmemorando al arzobispo Romero y las 4 Mujeres de la Iglesia norteamericana.


Aquí están unos de los logros de 2010:

• SHARE tuvo un rol muy importante en el presión hacia el estado de El Salvador para pedirle perdón al los victimas civiles de la guerra civil y para pedir perdón por la primer vez desde que se firmo el Acuerdo de Paz en 1992 por el rol que tomo el estado en el asesinato de Romero.
• En marzo, más de cincuenta personas acompañaron a SHARE en una delegación conmemorando el aniversario trigesimo  del asesinato de arzobispo Romero. Romero sigue siendo una figura fundamental el la lucha por la justicia social en El Salvador. 
• SHARE respondió al Tormenta Tropical Agatha con el soporte de organizaciones locales y más de $7,000 en el alivio urgente.
• En octubre, SHARE celebro la convicción de los asesinos quienes secuestraron, atormentaron, y asesinaron al que fue un activista en contra de la minera y un líder de la comunidad, Marcelo Rivera el 2009 de junio. SHARE tuvo un rol importante en el soporto, tanto económicamente que moralmente, los abogados quienes lograron llevar a cabo el caso. 
• La “Ley para Una Vida Sin Violencia por Mujeres” pasó por la legislativa Salvadoreña el 25 de noviembre. SHARE juntos con su organización homologo local ORMUSA, también apoyó esta ley, que incluye programas para prevenir la violencia, recursos para las victimas de la violencia, y provisiones para fortalecer la sistema legal.
• En diciembre, SHARE llevó casi 50 delegados en una viaje de una semana para conmemorar a las cuarto Mujeres de la Iglesia quien fueron matadas en El Salvador hace unos 30 años. La delegación se enfoco en el recuerdo del legado de justicia social que estas mujeres valientes dejaron y en las problemas que afectan mujeres en El Salvador hoy. 

En 2011, SHARE esta celebrado su aniversario trigésimo.Con 30 años de solidaridad en nuestros bolsas, estamos emocionados y listos para seguir nuestro movimiento de ayudar en el construyo de una un nuevo El Salvador. Gracias por todo su apoyo y contribución este año! Esperamos tener noticias suyos en el año 2011! 
¡Feliz Año Nuevo de parte de todos en SHARE! 


¿Te quieres involucrar más? Suscribe con nuestro notcias en linea: manda un correo electronico a laura@share-elsalvador.org o uñese en nuestro grupo de Facebook. Ayuda que el año 2011 sea exitoso con una donacion a SHARE hoy.   

Remembering the Martyred of El Salvador

A reflection by delegates, Sisters Julia Keegan and Jean Rupertus, who accompanied SHARE on the delegation honoring the 4 US Churchwomen. 

On November 29, we went to El Salvador with a 50-person delegation from SHARE to honor the 30th anniversary of the martyrdom of Maryknoll Missionaries Maura Clark and Ita Ford, Ursuline Sister Dorothy Kazel, and lay volunteer Jean Donovan. Our first stop was Divina Providencia where Archbishop Oscar Romero lived and where he was killed while saying Mass. We laid our hands on the altar and united in solidarity with the people of El Salvador. It was fitting to go there first because his conversion and commitment to the poor inspired and strengthened the commitment of these four women. 

On the anniversary of the rape and murder of the four women, we traveled to San Pedro Nonhualco which is where their bodies were found…

Read the rest of the reflection here.

Need a last minute gift idea?

SHARE solidarity gifts are a great way to make your donation to SHARE a gift for someone special. Just pick a project, enter the recipient’s contact info and we’ll send a card that tells them you made a gift to SHARE in his or her honor. It’s that simple.  See the projects here: http://bit.ly/fwuF2q

And you can have the peace of mind, that this holiday season you helped support the struggle for economic and social justice in El Salvador.

Purchase your gift before 12/23 to ensure that we can email the card before Christmas. Let us know if you have any questions!

Why the Four US Churchwomen are Important Today

On December 5th, St John Francis Regis, a long-time SHARE sister in Kansas City, MO, hosted a prayer service in commemoration of the four US churchwomen killed in El Salvador 30 years ago.  Over 200 people attended a service that included processions, prayers and a powerful reflection by Sr. Mary McGlone. You can read the story about the event on a local newspaper’s website.

Father Tom Holder reflects on the date:I believe there are several reasons why the commemoration is still important today. There is still work to be done and we need to remember the commitment and courage of the four churchwomen to give us strength to do the hard work of justice. We need to make sure the younger generation has a sense of the real history of the region and the ability our country has to influence things, both in good and bad ways. In the Kansas City area, there are growing numbers of Salvadoran immigrants. They are here because they still suffer hardship and persecution. We need to hear the stories so that we can continue to be in solidarity with the people of El Salvador. The four churchwomen teach us the importance of putting a face on the issues. They inspire us by their example and call us to see the people of El Salvador as our brothers and sisters.

Churchwomen Delegation Photo Album is up!

Check out our Flickr Album from the delegation here: http://bit.ly/gSTdE5 Have some fantastic photos from the delegation that you want to SHARE. Let us know. Or if you want more updates from SHARE join our Facebook group or follow us on Twitter @SHAREelsalvador.

El Álbum de la Delegacion de las Mujeres de la Iglesia ya esta disponible!!

La delegacion de SHARE en frente de la iglesia que fue construida en el sitio donde los cuerpos de las 4 Mujeres de la Iglesia fueron encontrados.

Mire nuestro Álbum de la delegacion en Flickr. Tienes fotos de la delegación que te gustaría compartir con los demás? Avísanos! O si quieres las ultimas novedades de SHARE, uñese al grupo de Facebook. Tambien nos pueden seguir en Twitter@SHAREelsalvador.

Quotes from the final weekend of the Churchwomen Delegation

With the delegation coming to a close, delegates shared many interesting and profound responses to the experience with SHARE. We’ve compiled a few quotes here to provide food for thought to those of you who weren’t able to join us in El Salvador for this memorable occasion. 

The delegation spent the first part of Saturday in San Salvador’s main Cathedral and in the crypt below, which is the final resting place of Archbishop Romero.  After this experience one delegate commented:

“The contrast between the ornateness of the main cathedral and the simplicity with which Romero lived his life was startling and very disturbing.  It makes you question the role of the Catholic Church in the social issue of our times.” -Belinda Monahan, OSB Read More »

A Delegate Reflection

A reflection from Patricia Crowley, OSB:

I keep tripping across Dostoyevsky’s quote about our being saved by beauty (if by nothing else). In the midst of present stories of violence, pain, struggle, loss and with memories of fear and anger and suspicion frm my time here in 1990, I feel overwhelmed by peace and hope and the beauty of Salvadoran faces. Life is hard here. Poverty is deep. Yesterday we visited the community of Llano Grande in Tecoluca– a group of 45 families who have claimed a piece of land here and built a home (of cardboard and branches and old tin) with a small garden and washlines and love.

To learn more about how you can visit El Salvador on a SHARE delegation visit our website or email us at sharesf@share-elsalvador.org. For more updates from SHARE follow us on Twitter @SHAREelsalvador or join our group on Facebook.

Delegate Reflection: Mercy Touches Wounds of El Salvadoran People

This account was written after the first day of the delegation for the Sisters of Mercy blog by Jean Stokan, a SHARE Board Member and representative of the Institute Justice Team of the Sisters of Mercy.   Mercy Touches Wounds of El Salvadoran People

Written by Jean Stokan, Institute Justice Team

December 02, 2010

Nine members of our Mercy family are traveling to El Salvador Nov. 29-Dec. 6 as part of a 50-person delegation commemorating the 30th anniversary of the martyrdom of four U.S. churchwomen who were working with those who are poor and oppressed in that Central American country.  The following is their first blog post from El Salvador: We started our first full day in El Salvador going to the chapel where Archbishop Oscar Romero was assassinated. On a wall leading up to the chapel is a powerful mural of Romero surrounded by his beloved people. Some are depicted as under weights of oppression, others are smiling. Romero in holding a child with one hand and the other hand is raised, with a striking blood-red stigmata in the center. His feet as well are imaged with the stigmata. Read the rest of the account on the Sisters of Mercy blog.