Holiday Greetings from SHARE’s Grassroots Team in El Salvador!

This week, as the final candles of advent and the menorah are lit, we are reminded of the gathering flame of hope that burns in El Salvador. Just like the holiday lights of Hanukah, Kwanzaa, and Christmas bring warmth and light into a dark season, the youth of El Salvador strike matches against the darkness of a long history of injustice in their country.

The youth of El Salvador are presently living on the edge of despair. Forty-eight per cent of their compatriots live in poverty (22% are living on less than $1 per day), and only half of them will get a chance to pursue a secondary education. This situation has recently led to a rise in gang violence, which has made El Salvador one of the three most violent countries in the world. Many young people opt to leave their country in search of opportunity in the US. Immigration numbers have risen so drastically that currently one in three people of Salvadoran descent are living outside the country. However, even under these circumstances, many youth are becoming their own protagonists by working to bring sustainable development and social justice to their regions. Through youth organizing projects that SHARE supports, young people are learning to become organized, outspoken, and active citizens so that they can create a better future for themselves, their communities, and their country. These youth programs have been so effective in fostering strong leaders that three recently elected directors of CRIPDES regions are youth!

We wanted to share with you the stories of three youth from Southern La Libertad, who participated in a SHARE-funded scholarship and youth organizing program this year through CODESMA. One of these students is Marvín. Marvín’s town is connected to the nearest paved road by a long, one-lane track with many gullies and potholes. The community center cannot be reached without four wheel drive and two able legs to cross the river. His family, like most of the community, has no electricity or running water. Marvín has just finished ninth grade through a CODESMA scholarship program, and is a very talented painter. His murals appear in the community center (shown here) and on the school. He is also a member of the directive board for his community, and confidently expresses his opinion among adults as well as peers. His dedication to a brighter future is clearly demonstrated, both in his murals and his commitment to the development of his community.

Other participants in the youth scholarship program are Jenny and Carolina (shown here, respectively). They are working with their community to better the lives of women in the area. They are both currently achieving high grades in their secondary education, and hope to stay in school as long as possible. As part of a SHARE regional project, they have helped to organize workshops that give women basic training on gender and other relevant topics. As members of their community’s directive board, they have worked to organize the women and the youth. They have also supported the efforts of their community to install running water, latrines that conserve the environment, and bio-filters that clean used water so it can be recycled for agricultural use. Their dedication to peers and the other women of their community shines as an example for us all.

Hope means so much. This season shows us that the darkness of even the coldest winter can be broken with just a flicker of hope. Now more than ever, it is important that we rededicate ourselves to dwelling within that hope. As Monsignor Romero said: “No one has the right to despair, we all share the responsibility to hope.” We must commit ourselves to living inside our hope for a brighter world, to running through its hallways and touching its walls on both sides. In doing this, we can draw strength from the bravery and persistence of the youth of El Salvador, who represent a gathering flame that burns bright with hope for a just society.

Many warm wishes for a Holiday Season filled with hope,
SHARE Grassroots Team in El Salvador