Storm causes Road Damage, Flash Floods and Landslides El Salvador’s vulnerability to natural disasters was made apparent once again as Tropical Storm Alex battered the country over the weekend. Flash flooding and landslides caused schools and businesses to close. At least three people died, and more than 1,200 people were forced from their homes.
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The semi-rural area just outside of San Salvador called Las Delicias, or The Delights in English, is a major thoroughfare for thousands of people who live in the various villages and hamlets just beyond the city. The highway that leads you through Delight is framed by broken-down factories, chicken processing plants, dusty tire repair shops and lean-to eateries. Windy paved roads like tributaries lead you away from the highway through rows of low-income housing where factory laborers work 15-hour days and come home to two rooms, occasional running water and a flickering TV.
Dozens of people were forced to leave their homes in San Miguel this week. Photo courtesy of El Diario de HoyEl Salvador is being drenched by Tropical Storm Agatha which has dumped more than 16 inches of rain on the country in the past few days. The government has declared a state of emergency throughout the country with at least nine people dead and more than eight thousands forced from their homes. Thousands of Salvadorans suffer loss of property and life due to lack of adequate infrastructure to protect them from the six months of torrential storms experienced each year.
Founded and organized by pediatric residents, Children’s Health International Medicine Project of Seattle (CHIMPS) collaborates with ENLACE's church partners in the Abelines region to provide medical care and public health interventions. Over the past seven years members of the CHIMPS teams have helped administer care in the Abelines region while also providing training and encouragement to the multiple Health Committees in the area. In addition, the teams have helped gather vital medical information including a multi-year iron deficiency study.
Many of you who have followed Project Milagro (The Miracle Project) in the communities of Las Delicias, Las Animas and El Rosario know the story of Marina. Marina is a hard-working single mother who has volunteered countless hours alongside her fellow church and community members, striving to make a dream become reality. Take a moment to listen to Marina's compelling story.
ENLACE "equips churches to transform communities." And while community transformation is often a hard concept to grasp, these preliminary statistics help to tell the story of transformation for thousands of people in the Abelines region. What has happened in this area of the country over the past few years is nothing short of miraculous.
Since 2004*:
* Infant mortality rates have dropped from 47 per 1,000 to two per 1,000 per year.
* Insecure housing rates have decreased from 32% (110 of 341 houses were unsafe) to 14% (48 of 341 houses are unsafe).
* Access to clean water has increased from 1% (4 of 341 households had access to clean water) to 79% (271 of 341 households have access to clean water).
* Access and use of latrines has increased from 33% (113 of 341 households used latrines) to 93% (316 of 341 households use latrines).
* Access to electricity has increased from 0% to 95% (324 of 341 households have access to electricity).
We believe that at the root of any lasting change is the restoration of relationships, the fruit of individual transformation. A few months ago we filmed the following interviews with church and community leaders in the communities in and around Abelines, and we'd like to share with you their stories of transformation.
This year ENLACE is already working with more than 10 churches in the Abelines region. There are many more churches that are requesting ENLACE's accompaniment to transform their communities as well. You can make help make this happen through your prayers and support. Click here to give to ENLACE's church and community program.
*Preliminary impact estimates 2004-2009. More extensive research is still in process.
It is with great enthusiasm that we present you with our 2009 Annual Report. Thank you for your prayers and support!
Since 2002, ENLACE USA director, Larry Kasper, has seen God’s dream put into action through local churches in El Salvador. During one of his many visits to El Salvador, Larry got a chance to share a little of his story with us.
Below is a six-minute version of a documentary by Rose Anderson found on hubwitness.org about the water situation in El Salvador. The site has this to say:
In the early years, when ENLACE was run from a church choir room in San Salvador, and three volunteers (Ron Bueno, Dave Bueno and Dorita Reinoza) shared one 486 computer and a white, beat up truck, the vision was to help the rural poor gain access to a healthier and more stable way of life. The ambitious nature of such a vision was not lost on these volunteers and yet, according to Ron, who eventually became ENLACE’s executive director, a frequent refrain was heard amidst the choir robes from Zechariah 4.10; Despise not the day of small beginnings.
And so as Ron, Dave, and Dorita began to develop an effective approach to resolving the needs of poverty, they were led by God from focussing on projects to people, a story captured recently in Vanguard University Magazine.
Enlace’s initial strategy, which did not directly involve churches, had to change to achieve lasting transformation.
“The very first project we did was a big water initiative,” says Ron. “Everyone in the community was engaged. It was a smashing success by any development standard. We thought, ‘We rock.’ To this day it’s one of the best water systems in whole region. But shortly after everybody got water, I realized everybody worked together only because they needed it. When a spigot broke or a neighbor couldn’t afford it anymore, they wouldn’t help each other. No matter how well designed and managed the system was, it did not ultimately change people’s hearts and therefore would not change the community.
“God kept challenging me, ‘Unless I am changing hearts and relationships, there’s not going to be long-term change. If it’s not my church doing it, it isn’t going to happen.’ That was a real turning point for me and for Enlace.”
To read the rest of the story, including present missionaries and Vanguard alums, Pete and Dara DeSoto and James and Rebecca Huff, click here.
In a year of global economic hardship, Project Milagro made considerable strides towards providing water for 10,000 people in the hills of Las Delicias, El Rosario, and Las Animas. As 2009 closed, stage four (of seven) was near completion in which the first 100 families will receive access to clean water! It has been quite a journey, and here are some of the miracles that brought us this far...
On November 7, Hurricane Ida dumped 14 inches of rain in twelve hours on El Salvador, severely damaging the central and coastal regions. To put that into perspective, the last major hurricane that hit Central America was Hurricane Stan which dumped over 15 inches in a four-day period. The sudden massive downpour caused rivers to overflow and triggered deadly landslides. Across the country over 200 people died and 13,600 people were forced to find refuge in 118 temporary shelters. The landslides destroyed 158 homes and damaged an additional 1,500 (for more information and pictures regarding the effects of the storm visit NY times article and our gallery).
