San Agustin

Mary and I entered the local school in San Agustin and did a series of workshops touching on the children's past/current experiences of living in a high flood zone area. We worked in a group setting approach on a weekly basis and used all dynamic and animated activities with them!

La Naturaleza

Sunset on Tunco Beach...Bringing home the cows in La Libertad.

El MOZOTE

The village of Mozote, located outside of Perquin, is the spot where about 900 campesinos, mostly women and children were massacred by armed forces in 81'. Both Reagon and the US slowly dismissed it as proganda, therefore names of the dead are still being revealed today. The first picture is a memorial to the Massacre and the second are the walls of the church which were painted in memory of all the children that were murdered. There names are added at the bottom as they are revealed.

Perquin, en las montanas

Perquin is a small northern mountain town located in the Department of Morazan. Here the Revolutionary Museum is located where one can see firsthand artifacts, pictures and information about the civil war, which just ended in 92'. It proves to be a very moving experience, especially as an American. Here Mary and I "climbed" the Perquin mountain.

Gestion de Riesgos

Here in La Libertad, San Jose de la Villa Nueva, Moises started giving talks on disaster preparedness and prevention so that when the next natural phenomenon hits this town will be ready. In this case flooding is their main concern. Mary and I also hope to incorporate some psychosocial themes as well, it couldn't hurt.

Tamar en Chalatenango

Engineers without Borders came to Chalatenango to help with a water project in Tamar's site. I visited for a few days to help with translating and learn about digging wells and the G.P.S mapping system. It's not hard to find Che fans in this country as proven by this photo. Then there's Tamar posing out her host family's window.

en Bajo Lempa

This was one of the music workshops where Mary and I worked with the band, Yo lo Camba I'ta, in teaching the children how to express themselves through music.

More Coatepeque

I couldn't let Ben leave without a canoe ride in el Lago de Coatepeque, the beauteous crater lake below the Santa Ana Volcano.

El Pital

Benny and I climed "el Pital," the highest point in El Salvador. At the summit we sat among the clouds and then "crossed" into Honduras. Despite the dense cloud forest we still managed a few good vistas!

La Palma

Ben and I visited La Palma (up north) where local artists paint the streets, houses and storefronts a rainbowed array of colors using mostly Mayan patterns.

las lichas lindas

Ben was eager to try the Salvadoran lichas,
a surprisngly tasty fruit awaits under those
funky passion red spikes.

Preferidas...

Here was the bus Diego & I took through the mountain towns and here we have some boats found on the shores of Lago de Coatepeque.

Thanks Mom!

Mom gave James some money for a fancy dinner, we got some exceptionally fresh seafood, thanks Rita!

Lago de Coatepeque

Diego and I visted this volcano crater lake where the water was crystal clear. Although you can see the Santa Ana volcano in the background this lake was somehow untouched when it errupted last year.

¡James Visits!

Diego came down for a visit and was able to experience one of the closing workshops in Bajo Lempa. The kids were busy with puppet shows and music but, as one can see, the kids loved him instanteously!

Horses & Volcanos

Diego and I took a horseback trip up the Guazapa Volcano. The guide simply handed us over some horses and began the uphill journey. James was riding "Poncho" who had a mind of his own.
Along the way we saw some beauteous sites, swam in some waterfalls and learned the history of the Volcano's significant role during the war in the 1980's.

Adios a Suchitoto!

Mary and I have moved to the capital due to some safety concerns plus the fact that our NGO is based out of San Salvador. This was our old house (the backyard) which we sadly had to leave behind. We now have a small little apartment, that is very secure (and nicer than mine in NYC) in the capital.

!Felipe!

Here in Bajo Lempa Felipe is infamous for his rambunctiousness. His house gets flooded regularly however, the community remains in Bajo Lempa for it is all they have. Here Felipe climbed up on some bricks while eating chips and decided to dance a little dance. He's a definite favorite amongst our team!

Landslides

As one can see the soil is very loose and can be dangerous for both cars and people on the roads below. Erosion is a big problem and part of what REDES, the NGO I work with, does is help control and prevent this problem.