Title: CIS Community Building and Dignified Housing (Testimonies).

 CIS, Los Olivos CIS, together with Homes from the Heart, the Salvadoran Ministry of Housing,

the Franciscan Sisters of Perpetual Adoration, and many CIS partners and individuals

completed 17 dignified homes in 2022. This makes a total of 100 home built in Paso Puente to

date. CIS has an integral approach that includes Scholarships, Leadership Development, Art

and Mental Health programs so that families can not just have a roof over their head, but the

tools for overcoming poverty and contribute to building their community and country free of

violence. CIS added 21 scholarship recipients in Paso Puente in 2022 thanks to St. Elizabeth

and Holy Spirit Parishes in Kansas City, making a total of 69 scholarship recipients there this

year – an integral  to overcoming violence and migration.

Here are some testimonies from the families who are part of the project:

              Testimony of Sara Elizabeth:

Sara Elizabeth is a single mother of two young daughters and an older son who lives with his wife and Sara’s granddaughter in their new home. The home has a corridor, 2 bedrooms, and a living room. Sara has a business making pupusas (a Salvadoran tortilla filled with beans and cheese or other ingredients) from 5 – 9 a.m. in the morning for breakfast and 5 – 9 p.m. for dinner. Her ex-husband left her for another woman and lives on the same lot which is in both Sara and her ex-husband’s name. He signed the papers so Sara could be the beneficiary of the home, which took a long time to convince him and why she had to wait over two years since the project started. He does not help her with any economic support to raise their children. He gives his daughters a quarter occasionally, but doesn’t help with food, clothing, or studies. Sara has a 5th grade education. Because of the poverty she grew up in, she could not continue her studies.

Sara: "The difference now is we don’t live a deteriorated shack where rain would come through the roof. We would have to move the furniture and everything when it started raining to avoid the leaks. Now we have a dignified roof over our heads. My daughters can sit down and play on a clean floor, not on a dirt floor. They couldn’t play before. We are very happy. We would never have dreamed of owning our own home. We have lived in a shack for years. My business selling pupusas for breakfast and dinner barely puts food on the table. I can buy my daughters new clothes once a year. My daughters are getting a quality education thanks to CIS scholarship program. If I had to pay for their studies that would be an additional sacrifice. I see a brighter future for my daughters thanks to all blessings we have been given. I also helped with the construction and walk my daughters to school. I believe it is important for the families to contribute to this development; not just wait for a handout. I am on the Board of  Directors of the community to organize for other necessities like to get running water into our homes. I want to give thanks to the CIS, the Franciscan Sisters of Perpetual Adoration, Homes from the Heart, the Salvadoran Ministry of Housing, and the organizations and individuals that support their work and share your blessings and not just put money in your own pockets. We feel it is a blessing that God put you in our path, that you reached out to visit us and see our reality. Imagine, we have been living in this community since the earthquakes of 2001, and no one ever visited us or help us overcome. We are happy you can see the fruit of your efforts. May God bless you, so you continue his good works." 

 

Testimony of Blanca Luz.

                            

Blanca Luz is the mother of five children. She lives with her youngest son, Miguel. Three of her

children are older and live with their families. Her second youngest son is in prison after being

seduced into joining the gang. Miguel has severe physical disabilities due to having been beat

up by the gang for not joining. This makes it difficult for him to get a stable employment.

Blanca Luz has only a first-grade education and is originally from the countryside where there

was not much education available for her to study. Her first ex-husband abandoned her and her

first three children giving her no economic or moral support. Her Second ex-husband is

mentally ill and cannot help her with expenses. She has been the mother and father raising her

five children She sold tomatoes, corn, herbs, lemons, empanadas, and fruits to raise her

children. She was also the maid of a family in a wealthy home when her mother was alive to

take care of her children. [maids in El Salvador typically live with the wealthy family and only

get two days off a month]. Miguel does odd jobs such as painting, cleaning, and collecting soda

cans to sell for recycling.

Blanca Luz:

"I feel happy. I feel proud. I never had a little home. Now I can sleep well. We are happy

to be in a secure house that is not going to fall down with the wind, or the roof and poles

will not rot. Before, during the cold months of December, we would be shivering. Now

we are nice and warm. We don’t have to sleep on the dirt floor with little insects all over

us, and animals running in and out of the house. I have always maintained my house

clean even when we lived in a shack with a dirt floor. People always envied me and

thought I was rich because I had a neat and clean home. Just because you are poor,

doesn’t mean you can’t live in a dignified manner. I want to contribute to my community

and my home. Miguel and I bought paint and the things we need with our hard work.

Some people have big plasma televisions. We can’t afford that. But with our hard work

and saving little by little we could by a stove and small refrigerator. God has blessed us

and helps me with my son’s health; and we do our part."

  

Volunteer Point of View on  The Environment and Water Program

Three days after landing at the airport, I found myself in a truck driving through the beautiful mountains of El Salvador, sat next to Don Luis (my new program director) trying my hardest to communicate in broken Spanish about El Programa de Agua Limpia y Medio Ambiente. We were on our way to my first job in Apastepeque, apparently where they take all the volunteers on their first day for an easy introduction.

  Inside a water purifier in Soyapango.

This is where I got to grips with the program. We visited a small school in Apastepeque  with a water purifier in an outhouse in the courtyard. After opening it up, you can see its three components, a cartridge to remove physical dirt, a UV filter to kill any remaining bacteria or pathogens, and a digital calendar counting down the days for its next checkup. It connects to the pipes and flows out clean through the taps of the school. This is a water purifier – an incredible 40 communities have received a water purifier from CIS.

Throughout my 10 weeks here, we spent lots of days traveling around the country in the truck checking the purifiers were in good condition, and Don Luis trained me on what to look for and how to fix them. I got to know a lot of different communities this way, meeting wonderful people in every town. Don Luis, knowing my inner tourist would appreciate it, would often take us to lunch in some of the most beautiful towns on the way home, my favorite being Suchitoto.

                                                            Household water filters. 

As well as the water purifiers, we also provide water filters; a system of two buckets that filters water for households in rural communities. Given the scale needed to reach as many households as possible, Don Luis works with teams of students at different communities across El Salvador. The students hold regular workshops in the community demonstrating how to use the water filters and explaining why they are important for health and sanitation, a vital educational element to the program. I was lucky enough to attend a few of these workshops and get to know the students in San Pedro Perulapán and San Rafael Cedros. It was so motivating seeing young people taking on leadership roles and taking action for clean water in their hometowns.           

One of the things that continues to blow me away about El Salvador is just how kind the people are. I was fortunate enough to visit a town called Tonacatepeche to check their water purifier. In the town, they make the indigo paint known as añil, commonly used for artisanal clothing that you will see everywhere in the country. After we had finished, they were generous enough to show me around the farm where they grew the plant that produces the añil pigment, and the skilled process of oxidization that turns the leaves blue over time. Later it is dried out and ground down by hand to produce the fine indigo powder.                        

                                                          Añil process in Tonacatepeque

Overall, I have had an incredible experience working on the water program with CIS. I have learnt so much about the water issues facing the country, the causes of pollution, and most importantly some of the solutions adopted by local communities. I couldn’t recommend a more valuable way of seeing all corners of El Salvador and getting to know the amazing Salvadoran people.

By Zara Holden.