As I am writing this newsletter, my wife is leading a delegation of junior high school students to visit two villages in the mountains of El Salvador, her eighth such visit. For these students, it is language and cultural immersion as they live with local families, share meals, play with and teach the children. One year we raised the money to buy the materials for - and actually help clear the land and build - a community center. Each year, money is raised to provide scholarships for students to attend regional high school and university, which are not available within the communities. Without these funds, most of these children would not be able to continue their formal education. The first scholarship recipients are now just graduating college! (PLEASE CLICK ON THE TITLE ABOVE TO CONTINUE READING.)
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One of the things that make this trip so special is that these delegations are the only foreign visitors to these villages. It reminds us that there are plenty of places in the world where we can truly make a difference. We only need pick one and start. Idly sitting back waiting for a calling or to find the right cause is far less important than just starting someplace and making it right for you. There is so much that needs to be done. My wife lives by the Forest E. Witcraft credo: …“the world may be a better place because I made a difference in the life of a child." When I think of all the children in those villages and the American students who have visited, the positive influence is impressive. It is very rewarding to watch our young teenagers come back home, stand in front of a room full of people and share their experiences and observations. They get it - the genuine happiness, warmth and generosity of the native people, despite how little they seem to have. And the smiles on the faces of the Salvadoran children when the delegations arrive will melt anyone’s heart. These are the same villages that were decimated during the Salvadoran Civil War fought between the government of El Salvador and leftist groups fighting for their rights and revolting against a government fraudulently elected. Before the outbreak of the war, the American government supported and financed a junta bringing back the exiled, ex- president in an effort to “change” the political environment and stop the spread of leftist insurrection. It did not work and the country drifted to war. During that 12 year civil war, our government then backed the right wing military Salvadoran government against its citizen “guerillas” fighting for their rights, in the same way it backed the governments of other Central American countries to stave off the alleged threat of communist expansion in the region. The villagers hid in the local mountains and caves and fought back from these positions with whatever ‘arms’ they could find. The Peace Agreement was finally signed in early 1992. In 2009, a candidate from one of the leftist parties was finally elected president. So, a delegation of young students from America 30 years later becomes all the more interesting against this historical backdrop. In his song, Lives in the Balance, Jackson Browne posits angry questions about war, which I read to be so relevant to the situation and history of this beautiful piece of rain forest tucked into the mountains in the northeast corner of El Salvador and her people. But who are the ones that we call our friends To the residents of these Salvadoran villages, I applaud your grace and wish to thank you for the lessons you teach our children and us. As is nearly always the case, we come down with an agenda to teach your children, but always come back learning far more in the process. Thank you. |