El Salvador
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Rosa Idalia, from Puentecitos, El Salvador, has improved her farm with organic farming training.
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Farmer Alonzo Rodrigo Garcia Garcia, tending his organic crops in the village of Puentecitos
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Lázaro Rodríguez and his family make Romero crosses and other wooden crafts for CAFOD.
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The Izalco volcano in El Salvador, near the village of Puentecitos - a protected nature reserve.
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In the 1980s and early 1990s, El Salvador was torn apart by a civil war sparked by inequality. Most Salvadoreans lived in extreme poverty while the wealthy elite stockpiled money and controlled the economy.
The injustice, violence and inequality remain today, as does the threat of natural disasters; El Salvador is highly vulnerable to earthquakes and hurricanes.
Our work at CAFOD is greatly inspired by the Salvadorean Archbishop Oscar Romero; a man who dedicated his life to the poorest communities in El Salvador. He was murdered in 1980 for speaking out against poverty and military repression.
Since the late 1970s, CAFOD has been working to help El Salvadoreans build a better future. Today, we focus on four key areas:
- Agriculture – helping farmers to improve their crops, care for the environment, cut costs, and learn from each other
- Reducing the risk of disasters – identifying areas at risk, helping communities to develop evacuation drills, planting crops to stop soil erosion
- HIV and AIDS – treatment and counselling for people with HIV, and raising awareness about prevention in parishes and schools
- Creating peace – helping to heal the scars of civil war and build a more just society through legal aid, advocacy and human rights education
Eliza lives in the village of Puentecitos, a community that is part of our Connect2 scheme
