11 years ago, I traveled to El Salvador with a group mostly from my church. We began building a classroom to be the high school in a small village in need.  The next year we returned and the building was completed, but they were not using it because they had no teachers. We came home and asked the nonprofit organization why there was no teacher and the response we heard was “We build classrooms not fund teachers.”  Shortly after that, our wonderful guides, translators and friends Alvaro Carias, Guillermo Sensente and Bill Fisher – from Iowa – formed a new nonprofit organization called ESNA (El Salvador North America) Village Network.

I have returned every year with a group mostly from Grand Junction CO, but we have had travelers, from Montana, Oklahoma, Denver and Louisiana join our group. We have built more classrooms, built homes, painted, delivered ecological stoves (designed in Oregon but manufactured in El Salvador), bought food for hungry families, provided jobs for cooks, contractors and workmen. Some of our travelers have funded a new church roof, a new building at the medical clinic for education, a piece of land for an additional well site and a new roof for a building which houses many memorial pictures from the Civil War.  We have visited many communities, provided school supplies, medical supplies, and solar lights and most importantly, we have built relationships and made friends.

We have learned about the history of El Salvador, their Civil War and the struggles they live with. We represent hope to these small villages and the people who live there. We build one home or classroom at a time, but this impacts the village tremendously.

Please consider traveling to beautiful El Salvador with ESNA Village Network for an experience you will not soon forget. If you are unable to travel, please consider donating to this very worthy organization. The money you send will be directly spent to further these works. Feel free to contact me.