First stop - Chicago

Really early start today. I left Ottawa at 6:30 am and am now settling down to a long wait before my next flight to Dallas, then on to Guatemala City. Travel days are always good. I can use the time to work on the pages of notes I have brought with me. My teacher Ronaldo told me to study hard before arriving at Celas Maya.

 

Can't say I have been doing this the last few weeks!

 

Well, I will start with a Chicago breakfast and start cramming!

Next stop, Dallas then Guatemala City!!

 

 

 

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Guatemalan Journey

In two weeks I will be leaving for Guatemala. This will be a great opportunity to work on my Spanish in preparation for the next Compadres trip planned for the summer of 2013.

I plan to blog every day on life in Xela Guatemala. Lots to write about, lots to take pictures of. I hope you are able to follow me on this great journey!

Xela is a great place to learn Spanish. Hope you are able to follow!!

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

What we are in words

A tag cloud from Tagxedo

Last post from Sister Shelley

A final note from Sister Shelley to the staff back home in Ottawa

Well here we are on our second last. Today is a visit to the cathedral where the tomb of Archbishop Oscar Romero is located and the rest of the day at the beach.

All are gone except me and one kid from Trinity who is sick! I am staying home to kid sit. Most have been sick but with a strenuous schedule, extreme heat, culture and the lack of what we are used to on all accounts has probably accounted for this. Myself and one other teacher from Trinity and a couple of kids have not been affected so far. Cross your fingers.

The trip has been exceptional as a learning experience. Last evening during our reflection time the kids were concerned about the “stupid” questions they will be asked when they return home. How does one communicate an experience like this? It is not a holiday just because it is taking place in a southern country. It is difficult. It is heart-wrenching and it causes each to reflect on what is really necessary for life. How does one communicate what it is like to experience a people who create life, sustain life and nurture its growth and development by ensuring that all are included, all are important and all are equally loved by God? How does one communicate the experience of a community that, in many ways, does in a normal day much of what we do, yet at the same time have absolutely nothing except for the food they grow to eat, the clothing that is donated to wear and the play they engage in that is creative as they do not have the “toys” to use normally necessary for such entertainment? How do you communicate the experience of the youth they have met in both communities? Youth who get up at 4:30 a..m to help in the fields before school, who come back at 7:00 a.m. for breakfast then head to school from 7:30 a.m. – 3:30 p.m. and after that they spend time in groups completing their homework then return home to help again in the fields or in their “house.” (Houses are a relative term!) People here go to bed at 9 p.m. or 10 p.m. at the latest. How do you communicate the experience of listening to the hopes and dreams of so many young people who would love to go to university but know it is beyond their reach? Their parents are subsistence farmers and the youth live with the reality they, too, may well become the same.

Our kids experienced the reality of engaging with their peers who are as intelligent, articulate, hopeful,  with dreams and plans as they have, BUT have none of the opportunities our kids have. So . . . they return hopefully changed. They return hopefully eager to keep the experience alive by becoming active agents of change. Margaret Mead said something to the effect that it only takes a small group of committed people to make change and that in fact  is the only thing that has ever worked..

So, yes, it has been a wonderful trip, but is it “fun?” That depends on how you define the word fun. We have lived with dirt everywhere, lack of water, creepy crawlies, heat, fatigue, inability to communicate as we would like to,  etc., etc. But we have shared life with people have welcomed us so openly and warmly, people who have told us this is now our home and we are welcome here anytime. And what was asked of us? To remain in solidarity, to share THEIR story of hope, of longing, of a story filled with the power of a God who suffers with the poor and the power of community!

The group has just left for the beach. They are unable to go to the cathedral Miguel has just informed us as the former rebel forces have taken it over  in protest of the many abuses of the people and injustice and the lack of movement on these many issues.  There has been an incidence with the Archbishop of San Salvador thus the reason for the takeover. Story best left out of an email! Enough to say there are right wing and left wing the world over!

Love, Shelley

Last day in El Salvador

Jasmine C.

So today is the last day here in El Salvador. After all we have been through, I feel that this trip was worth while. Even though many of the groups that talked to us were from different places, they all shared the same goal and vision that they wish one day will become reality. They all believe that with the help with all of their community, they can recreate their home and give their youth a brighter future.

For example, the organization at San Salvador, called Cripdes, assists other organizations to create scholarships and different youth programs so that they may be able to create path to their goal. They also have programs for women. Cripdes and its local community partners work really hard to create a better future for many people, as does the committees in San Jose and Cinquera. When I get back, I know what I`m going to tell everyone at home. We can all work together and build a better vision for everyone.

Here, education is not wasted.

Here is the latest blog post from the students of Holy Trinity and St. FX

Education. In Western culture, it is as commonplace and taken for granted as the weather, yet it's finer points are debated endlessly in our assemblies and parliaments. We quibble over school hours, which extra-curricular activity should get funding, which books to buy and study. For our students, it's a yawn-filled rite of passage, redeemed only by their friends and the occasional interesting course. It's a precursor to the rest of our lives, a prologue that everyone must read before properly beginning their tale.

But how often do we consider the state of education elsewhere in the world? In El Salvador, education isn't merely an ordeal that must be endured to attain your chosen career. It's far more than that. It's the faint, vulnerable hope for a better future, an escape from poverty and physical labour, a path to salvation. Here, students don't come to class baked, ignore homework, or reject the concept of studying and working hard for a better grade. Here, all homework is mandatory to avoid failure, studying is essential and exhausting levels of work are never in question. Here, students toil and pray that all their labour will be enough, that their dreams will finally be fulfilled and their families will no longer have to go hungry.

Here, education is not wasted.

The primary junior school is San Jose las Flores