Compadres trips to El Salvador - why do we do this?

Very often I get the question - why are you doing these trips?  Is it eco-tourism, volunteer action, social justice?  Its a great question, and I want to see if I can come up with an articulate answer.

I have been doing trips to the Global South - always somewhere in Latin America for over 20 years now, sometimes with students, sometimes with adults - teachers and school staffs - and sometimes by myself.

My reason for doing these trips has changed a little over the past two decades.  First, I have to admit it was simply the thrill of seeing new cultures, learning new ideas about real social justice and quite frankly, I felt I needed to be exposed to the incredible poverty I have witnessed on every trip over the years.

Now its deeper than that.  To me it seems that for most of us to have a real conversersion, to really see the terrible injustices that exist in this world we need to bear witness, we need to go there and see what is going on.  All the charity drives we do will not make a huge impact on the problems of Latin America and the Global South.  We need to see the world through their eyes, even if it is only for a few days so we can begin to understand that we live in a world where resources are not shared in a fair manner.

As I write this, I have mental pictures flashing past me.  The poor rural schools of El Salvador that never have the resources they need to do their work, the poor children of Cuernavaca, Mexico who sell gum and candy on the streets to make a little more income for their families, the terrible working conditions of Haitian sugar cane planters in the Dominican Republic.

These images can paralyze you, make you feel that there is nothing you can do.

But that is not the right reaction.  There is so much one can do by taking part in these experiences. Most importantly, by going to Latin America you are showing the people you meet that you are in solidarity with them and that you want to be part of their story.  By going down there, you are converted to seeing the world in a very different way, you can't return home and live the same way knowing there is terrible inequity and injustice so close to your home.

So, I will continue to bring people down to Latin American whenever I am capable of doing so.  It is so important to see how others live.  We deprive ourselves of an important life experience if we don't make the effort to go down there.  We allow ourselves to stay shielded.  We really miss something special.

So, is this tourism, volunteerism or social justice?  I think it is all three and much more.  It is also what you make it.  If you are open to the experience you can gain so much.

The last trip - July 2017

Last week I sent this note out to all the people I know who are interested in coming to El Salvador:

I wanted to contact all of you to let you know that we are recruiting now for the final Compadres y Comadres trip to take place July, 2017

If you know of other people who are interested, please let me know. I hope to have the group formed up and first deposits in by October 2016

This will be the final trip that I will facilitate, so this is a good opportunity to go and visit a wonderful country and meet amazing people.

I am now using my own e-mail address for correspondence, if you would like me to add you to the 2017 list please let me know. It would be good to have a different address that I can use over the summer. I would like to plan an early orientation session, maybe even during the summer so the group can get to know each other. One major theme for me would be to find out why you want to go to El Salvador. Knowing this will help Rene and I plan the trip.

I have had a chance to talk to a few of you on the phone about the trip and the shift to 2017. If a call would help, please call me on my cell at 613-218-9615, or e-mail me with your questions.

Thanks

Paul

This will certainly be the last trip I organize as part of Compadres y Comadres. I really hope it leads to other opportunities in El Salvador, but we will have to see. I hope to be very mindful of the preparation we need to do as a group for the 2017 trip and I would like to arrange secondary trips to Guatemala for those who have the flexibility to stay on. If you are reading this and want to come with us please send me a note at mcswa1@gmail.com

Thank you El Salvador

I was one tired, rather dissolute chica when we boarded the first plane on our way to
San Salvador on July 2nd at 6 am. It had been a very long stressful year, personally and
professionally. I had hardly thought of the trip before departure given a host of work and
personal responsibilities.

And then we were in the air, in a crowded vessel full of sleep-deprived, fellow passengers.
There was no turning back. We were on our way. Two flights later and I was still in a drowsy,
half-conscious state, lulled by the drone of the flights and the lack of fresh air.

Breathe in! San Salvador airport at 9:30 at night - vital, hot, humid, teeming with people. Past
Customs with my pitiful Spanish and navy blue Canadian passport. Tropical, fragrant air, people
laughing, patched up suitcases and boxes everywhere. Smell of petrol and sweat. Beaming face
of Miguel, our guide, waiting for us all. Unbelievably, luggage of all 6 passengers intact and we
pack ourselves into a blue passenger van in the dark. On the way to the Capital on dark, tree-
lined roads. How many people have been here before me, I ask myself in the dark, aware of a
dark history and sadness.

Our first blessing. At eleven at night, a lovely snack waiting for us in the heat of the guest house:
guacamole, fresh bread and tall glasses of ice-laden coke. We beam, gulp and slurp happily.
We retire to our rooms, fans slapping the air.

The malaise of the year is dissipating. I drink in the city air of morning in a small courtyard, my
incredibly amiable, new friends sipping coffee around wrought-iron tables, laughing and talking.
The morning is alive, in the flowers and plants, in the concrete walls hinged with barbed wire, in
the city buses wheezing and screeching down the steep streets. Our adventure has begun and
there is no turning back.

Thank you, El Salvador, for returning my sense of gratefulness. Thank you, Miguel, Nelson
and Nixon for caring for us and keeping us safe. Thank you, Donna, Tracey, Anna, Marta and
Nancy for your insatiable curiousity, humour and energy. Thank you, Paul, for your leadership
and quiet enjoyment of our first witnessing of this amazing country. Thank you to the many,
intelligent and committed people who told us their stories. Thank you to all, who unfailingly,
greeted us in the capital and the many towns and villages we visited. Thanks you to all,
including my young Spanish instructor, Beatrix, who suffered our attempts at Spanish and were
gracious.

Thank you El Salvador for returning my sense of humour and pathos. Stories of horror, outrage
and courage were often told with a smile, the small distance between joy and sorrow. I will
never forget what I heard and I now hold in my memory the lives of the thousands of people lost
in the struggle.

Thank you, El Salvador, for returning my appreciation of beauty. Lung-gasping foliage,
mountains, volcanoes, mango trees and blue skies that pierced the eyes.

Thank you for returning my passion and love of life. I was awakened, in a riot of colour, noise
and emotion, after a long winter. I am grateful for all that I experienced, heard and understood.

May I have the grace and fortitude to carry what I learned into my life here in Ottawa.

Day by Day in El Salvador - Day Three

Just adding this in because it is so fun!

We will be spending all day at UCA - Universidad Centroamericana "José Simeón Cañas" (UCA)

UCA played an important part during the war sadly because of the massacre of the Jesuit priests and their housekeeper and her daughter.  

Now UCA has satellite campuses in various parts of the country including San Jose las Flores where they are training teachers.  This will be a good day!

All day:  Seminars at Central American University (UCA – Jesuit University) covering education topics, e.g. liberation theology, critical pedagogy, popular education, the role of the Church in social struggle, the legacy of Archbishop Romero and the Jesuit scholars.  Here is more about the university from Wikipedia:

"José Simeón Cañas" Central American University[1] (Universidad Centroamericana "José Simeón Cañas", UCA) is a private university with non-profit purposes in San Salvador, El Salvador, Central America run by the Society of Jesus. It was founded in September 1965 at the request of a group of Roman Catholic families who appealed to the Salvadoran government and to the Society of Jesus to create another university as an alternative to the University of El Salvador (Universidad de El Salvador).

UCA has since evolved to be one of the best institutions of higher learning in Central America (Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica and Panama).[2] This is the case, despite the university's focus on playing a decisive role in the transformation of the unjust Salvadoran society.[3] Such a focus within the Salvadoran context has driven the university to give priority to undergraduate degrees, research within the social sciences, popular presentation of research results ("proyección social") and local peer-reviewed journals. All of these are elements which formally reduce the university's impact in international rankings. In the 1970s and 1980s during the Civil War in El Salvador, UCA was known as the home of several internationally recognized Jesuit scholars and intellectuals, including Jon Sobrino, Ignacio Ellacuría, Ignacio Martín-Baró, and Segundo Montes. They were outspoken against the abuses of the Salvadoran military and government, and carried out research to demonstrate the effects of the war and poverty in the country. The extreme social conditions in El Salvador provided a very rich empirical basis for innovative research within sociology, social anthropology, philosophy, social psychology and theology. These scholars made important and lasting contributions within these fields. Ellacuría, Martín-Baró and Segundo Montes, along with three other Jesuit professors, their housekeeper and her daughter, were murdered by the Salvadoran Armed forces on November 16, 1989 in one of the most notorious episodes from the Civil War (see The murdered scholars of UCA).

This is a new day for us, we should take a careful look at this day - what are your impressions of this day?  Is this interesting for you?  This day was originally designed when this trip was going to be a university credit.  Does this work as an element in an introductory tour of El Salvador?  Please comment on this.

Related articles

• killing priests and nuns, because they support the poor
• Former guerrilla in El Salvador
• U.S. Sentences Salvadoran Linked to Massacre for Immigration Fraud

Day Six of our tour - Suchitoto - a great place to be!

Day 6 of the tour - July 2014

All this is on Tour Builder Good to have this here too!

A visit to the colonial town of Suchitoto in Cuscatlán province for a tour of the historic town, the Joya de Cerén Mayan ruins (a UNESCO World Heritage Site), and for an introduction to the work of SalvAide sister organizations CRIPDES and CORDES in the region.

Suchitoto is a beautiful town.  This may be a location where the group will elect to stay a bit longer here.  This is also a good location to return to after the formal trip is over.  Spanish language training is available here and you can be billeted with a family!

I love this town - it has become one of the most popular tourist destinations in El Salvador and the only place I could find real Salvadoran cigars!

Here is one of the many web sites on this beautiful town.  There are many more!!

First meeting of the new group

We are meeting on Oct 1. Th is should be a great meeting - we have over 20 people signed up for the trip - I think we are really offering something good this year.

Here is the agenda:

Introductory Meeting
Compadres y Comadres
Collective of Ontario teachers moving for peace, action, development and relationships in El Salvador
Tuesday, October 1
4:30 PM- 5:30 PM
St. Gregory School



Trip Dates: July 1 – 12, 2014



Introductions/Greetings – Paul

Outline of the trip - – Paul & Rene

A day in a life of a delegation participant– Meg

Opportunities for developing links with communities in El Salvador

Introduction to El Salvador and partners – Rene

Logistics
a. Program Costs - $1200. – minimum 6 people (meals, accommodation, transportation in El Salvador, interpretation, coordination – does not include flights or travel insurance)
b. Payment Schedule: November 15 initial deposit $600. 2nd deposit $600. – January 15 You are responsible for your own travel arrangements, but flights need to be booked by January 15.
c. Passports
d. Spanish preparation
e. group preparation and orientation – Saturday, June 21
f. optional additional trip to Guatemala

Launch of a new program for July 2014

We have launched our new program for July 2014. The information is going out throughout the school board and because this is early, there should be enough time for staff to consider this experience for next year.

Here is the poster we are using to promote this year's trip. Very different and very exciting opportunity for those who want to learn more about El Salvador and possibly establish links with communities in El Salvador.

A draft program for next year

Already we are working on a program for next year. The new schedule is very different from our last trip. This is designed as an introductory experience for any staff member. The idea is to expose participants to a variety of communities that main form the basis of a longer lasting relationship. We also see this experience as an important way to develop leadership capabilities in all participants.

DRAFT PROGRAM FOR 12-DAY COMPADRES/COMADRES EL SALVADOR EXPERIENCE


DAY 1:

Travel to and arrival in El Salvador (via US) with transfer to San Salvador guesthouse and brief introduction/orientation by SalvAide El Salvador Representative

DAY 2:

AM: Workshop with Equipo Maíz on socio-political history of El Salvador
PM: “Contrasts Tour” of San Salvador to witness the geographical distribution of social inequity and exclusion among some of San Salvador’s neighbourhoods

DAY 3:

All day: Seminars at Central American University (UCA – Jesuit University) covering education topics, e.g. liberation theology, critical pedagogy, popular education, the role of the Church in social struggle, the legacy of Archbishop Romero and the Jesuit scholars

DAY 4:

All day: “Archbishop Romero Tour” – a tour officialised by the Government of El Salvador through the Ministry of Tourism in homage to El Salvador’s patron saint, martyred Archbishop Oscar Romero, whose peaceful struggle for human rights in El Salvador during the late 1970s earned him a Nobel Peace Prize nomination. Archbishop Romero is being considered for sainthood under the Church’s official beatification process.

DAY 5:

All day: “Education in El Salvador Tour” – a brief look at the education system in El Salvador as an example of low-middle income country education around the world. The tour includes meeting with Ministry of Education officials to outline their education reform efforts, meeting with the National Association of Salvadoran Educators – 21 June (ANDES 21 de Junio, El Salvador’s teachers union), and visits to various public and private education institutions.

DAY 6:

All day: A visit to the colonial town of Suchitoto in Cuscatlán province for a tour of the historic town, the Joya de Cerén Mayan ruins (a UNESCO World Heritage Site), and for an introduction to the work of SalvAide sister organizations CRIPDES and CORDES in the region.

DAY 7:

All day: A visit to Chalatenango province with a focus on the model town of San José Las Flores (a town repopulated by internal refugees during the civil war) to learn more about the work of CRIPDES and CORDES in the region. The visit will include an interpretive eco-tourism hike to the Our Lady of Resistance statue of the Virgin Mary erected by community members as an emblem of community opposition to large-scale metal mining (much of it Canadian) in the region (with possible short workshop on popular opposition to Canadian mining in El Salvador by the civil society National Roundtable on Metal Mining).

DAY 8:

All day: A visit to San Vicente province and the Lower Lempa River Region (Bajo Lempa) to learn more about the work of CRIPDES and CORDES there and for an eco-tourist boat tour through the Bajo Lempa river estuary, its mangrove forest, and the cooperative cashew orchards on Montecristo Island

DAY 9:

All day: Direct participation in a hands-on social works community education project for which the delegation will have raised funds

DAY 10:

All day: Direct participation in a hands-on social works community education project for which the delegation will have raised funds

DAY 11:

AM: Return to San Salvador guesthouse
PM: Final debrief and preparation for early next day travel

DAY 12:

Travel to and arrival back in Ottawa (via US)


ESTIMATED IN-COUNTRY COST:

Covers food and bottled water (three meals per day), accommodations (shared), private transportation, Spanish-English interpretation, and coordination

$850 per participant (minimum 10 participants)
$1,050 per participant (7 participants)
$1,325 per participant (5 participants)

What the program looks like

I was recently asked to come up with a more detailed description of the Compadres trip. This is what I have come up with. In May, we will again start to promote the experience for 2013.

Objectives:
• to involve teachers from Ontario in a delegation to explore long-term partnership opportunities with communities in El Salvador
• to develop strong relationships based on mutual respect, and solidarity.
• to develop materials and activities that can be used to tell the stories of the people of El Salvador
• to learn together popular education methods we can use within our own communities
• to meet with Salvadoran communities and learn more about their work and their role in the social movement
• to develop, where possible exchanges between Salvadoran and Canadian communities
• to support educational initiatives in El Salvador
• to experience the following:
• Workers defending their rights in maquila and agro-export plantations
• Farmers concerned about the impact of biotechnology on food security
• Communities dealing with the challenges of Canadian mining companies for control of their land
• Peasants (campesinos) in the struggle to recuperate land
• Women to fully participate in a creative and challenging way in their society
• Communities struggling to maintain their control of resources from mining companies
• to deepen our sense of social justice and analysis of the critical issues affecting people in the North and the South
• to improve our Spanish (educational workshops will take place at hostel Bajo Lempa - by the Pacific Ocean).
• to relate the experience to the social teachings of the church
• to develop partners with Northern NGO’s including Salvaide, Development and Peace and CHF (Canadian Hunger Foundation) and other educational institutions (Algonquin College) and other school boards in Eastern Ontario.


12-Day Program

DELEGATION OF Ontario Teachers - COMPADRES 12-Day Trip

Day One
Pick up at the airport transport to La Amistad guest house Hostel: Avenida Izalco No. 218, Colonia Centro America, San Salvador (503) 2226- 0437



Day Two - Orientation
Orientation Meeting with Miguel – trip coordinator for Salvaide
Meeting with Equipo MAIZ. Equipo Maíz : Carlos Garcia. T-shirts and posters and music available at their store.
CRIPDES. Meeting with CRIPDES – orientation to the work of CRIPDES, this organization is our host while we are in El Salvador.
Meeting with CORDES – this organization works in conjunction with CRIPDES throughout El Salvador
Lunch – we eat at local restaurants in San Salvador, the food is always very good!.

Day Three: Tuesday, July 5
Visits to the historical places in San Salvador : Visit to Divine Providence church were Monseñor Romero was killed,Visit to Monseñor Romero residence ,visit to the memorial to civilian victims of the military repression and the war at Parque Cuscatlan, Visit to UCA museum.

Day Four: Living in Community with the people of San Jose las Flores

8 AM. Drive out to Chalatenango Province to get to San Jose Las Flores community. It is a two and a half hours drive.
9:30 AM. Meeting At CCR in Chalatenango City with Nelson and his education team from the teachers association.
keep going to San Jose Las Flores: Lunch at the community kitchen set up by the women of San Jose las Flores
.






3 P.M. Meeting with the community Directorate where they will speak to us about the history of the community and its development and their present struggle against the Canadian mining companies. Visit around the community projects such as: a bakery, seamstresses, etc.
Dinner and time for rest. We eat with our families

Day Five:

Beginning of our program in San Jose las Flores
Each morning we meet at the school and we discuss issues of importance to all of us. We start by learning more of the stories of the teachers we are working with. We learn especially about the context of teaching in a community profoundly affected by the war in El Salvador. This orientation also allows the Canadian teachers to learn about the resettlement of the community during the war.

The afternoons are open for further discussion amongst the Canadian group. This is also time for collective prayer and reflection.

Day Seven: Continuation of opening discussion


Day Eight:

Canadian teachers are expected to present for two sessions. The nature of the presentations are determined by the expertise of the group.




Day Nine:

Canadian teachers are expected to present for two sessions. The nature of the presentations are determined by the expertise of the group.

Day Ten:

Final session is planned by entire group – this could be a joint presentation by Salvadoran and Canadian teachers

Day Eleven:

Visit to the Sumpul River Ecological Project
Visit the local Swimming pool, and the famous Sumpul River, so bring your bathing suits. This is a chance for all teachers to spend a day together to learn motre about each other and to thank our families for hosting us.

Day Twelve:

8:30 AM. Leave for San Salvador and we will stop at Chalatenango City for some handicrafts sold by local artisans organized by CORDES.
Return to Casa La Amistad

Day Thirteen: Friday, July 15
8 AM. Drive to the Costa del Sol – beach

Saturday, July 16
Airport
Participants depart for Canada

Where are we heading...

Yesterday, I put a note out to our e-mail list to over forty people who have expressed interest in Compadres y Comadres or who have gone in the past.  A really good group!

two of our participants from last year - Katie and Susanne

In the note, I let everyone know that we won't be going to El Salvador this year.  We simply do not have enough people able to commit at this time.  We really need at least five people to make this financially viable.

Not this year.

I received some very nice notes today from past and future participants expressing their regret that we won't be going.  I have to say - no worries!

We have a really good concept and we work with exceptional people here in Canada and in El Salvador.  When you work with good people, good things eventually will happen - just not yet.

I have to say that the experience last year really changed me.  I hope I was able to express this adequately in the blog posts, but it was a transforming experience.  Living with the teachers and sharing their stories was really special.  It reminded me a little of the trips we used to do with students in the Dominican.  You really learn a great deal when you live and eat with families.  In some way, you become part of their household and part of their story.

Nelson's house, where I lived

So, we will do this next year.  I am confident that we will have some great people with us in a year from now.  We always have some irons in the fire that might help us move to a more sustainable program.

We have been talking with St. Paul's University and our school board for over a year now about the possibility of offering an additional qualification credit for taking part in the program - once this link is firmly established we will be able to offer something very attractive to our Catholic teachers in Ontario.

We will also be presenting Compadres y Comadres at a number of gatherings and conferences in the Spring.  As we do this, we will be opening up this experience to brand new audiences.  

We have a really good idea - we may need just a bit more time.

So, thanks for all the kind notes, but don't despair - we will have a trip and some of you will be flying to El Salvador before you know it!

As for me, I will be off to Guatemala to give my Spanish a good workout!

back soon!

Compadres y Comadres Trip - summer 2012

Compadres Staff Trip to El Salvador Summer 2012



Are you interested joining us on a 12-day trip to El Salvador?


key features:


meet key civil society organizations in San Salvador


visit sites associated with Oscar Romero


live and work with teachers in the community of San Jose las Flores


visit the beautiful town of Suchitoto


enjoy a wonderful day at the beach!


If you are interested, please contact Paul McGuire at


mcswa1@gmail.com

you will be added to our e-mail list

upcoming events:

We will have an information table at Christian Community Day - Ottawa, October 7th

Information meeting Monday, November 7 - details to follow

please see www.compadres-elsalvador-canada.ca for more information