In Ciudad Romero, El Salvador, students participated in community development projects under the guidance of the Foundation for Self-Sufficiency in Central America, a social justice organization that works with low-income communities in Central America.
Students worked with La Coordinadora, a local organization that funds numerous development projects throughout the Bajo Lempa region of El Salvador. During the week, students assisted La Coordinadora with several projects, including the construction of a hurricane-proof community shelter and the release of baby sea turtles into the Pacific. Work primarily centered on a potable water project whose goal was to bring clean, safe drinking water to communities in the region.
Days were spent performing intense physical labor under the hot sun in order to create trenches for water pipes, but concrete results ultimately rewarded the students’ efforts.
Trip leaders Jen Foth and Mikaela LeFrak report that they and their participants were extremely moved by the completion of a project at an elementary school: “After two days of digging and laying pipeline under the watchful gaze of the young students, we were finally able to turn on the faucet and see the fruits of our labor come pouring forth. It was an empowering and inspiring moment, to see tangible results at the end of all our hard work.”