My link to a special needs family in El Salvador
by Rachel
Patricia Wright’s blog post described a trip she took to China to volunteer for The Five Project. Her volunteer work was part of Outside-In, where Easter Seals headquarters offers its employees paid time off to volunteer. I’m such a volunteer nerd that I took advantage of the Outside-In program and jumped at the chance to work in El Salvador for a week.
My group from Willow Creek Community Church partners with an organization called ENLACE. Enlace is the Spanish word for “link,” and it commits to a 10-year relationship with a local church in El Salvador. The ENLACE model is all about empowering people of rural villages to begin and maintain ownership of projects that better their community. That’s what I liked about this organization the most — they steward relationships and develop sustainable solutions for poverty.
With the guidance of ENLACE, the people identify a project and work together over a long period of time to complete it. Our group was just added labor, working alongside the people of El Progreso to build a road that will help them transport crops more easily and will allow kids to walk to school safely. We worked very hard and got very dirty, but it was so fulfilling!
While working, I met the sweetest little girl named Senia. She walked in the courtyard holding her dad’s hand, with a huge grin that never left her face. She was very shy to meet us, but warmed up quickly. I noticed she was a little slower than most of the other kids (she couldn’t keep up playing soccer) and had someone translate as I talked to her dad. It turns out Senia has a seizure disorder and ADD and needs to go to the hospital once a month for treatment. It costs $15 to get a ride into the city, and her family makes less than $2 a day. so there’s not much left over.
I learned that most kids in rural areas of El Salvador go to school until around 4th or 5th grade, but Senia doesn’t because the teachers don’t have the capacity or resources to teach her. It was so cool to tell Senia’s father about what I did for work and about the idea of inclusion — that in the U.S., kids with disabilities go to school with their peers. I felt really proud that I could connect with him on that level and offer some encouragement for Senia.
I’m so thankful to be working for an organization that allows me to volunteer. It’s something I really love to do.
April 2nd, 2013 at 9:35 am
What a great blog! Easter Seals truly does provide a variety of learning, growing opportunities! How do I go about getting more information about Outside In?
I am a special needs preschool teacher at ES in Florida that would LOVE to share information regarding inclusion, teaching strategies, making the first five count etc with teachers/parents in Honduras. This summer will be my seventh time visiting HN on mission with my church! Part of my heart lives there!
I would appreciate any information you could provide.
Thak you again for such an awesome, encouraging blog!