Stories

Chantal de Alcuaz is a member of Programa Velasco’s Board of Directors. She shares some thoughts below on why she participates on the board and why she believes in our work. 

When I visited El Salvador for a month in 2010 I was blown away by the faith and resistance I witnessed in the people, but also by the brutal legacy of decades of war and violence. I have been friends with Programa Velasco’s cofounder Annie Boyd since I met her on that visit and am honored to play some small role in solidarity and healing by serving on the Board of Directors of Programa Velasco.

For the last two weeks we’ve talked about some of the broad basics regarding our scholarship families’ social and economic situation. This week we’d like to discuss one particular aspect of life in El Salvador that affects nearly all Salvadorans: public transportation.

Last week we talked about some of the basic demographics of the families we support through Programa Velasco. In this post, we’ll focus on a few of the statistics we mentioned about families’ incomes and what a typical month of expenses looks like. Can you imagine living your life on $273.91 a month?

By the time a child living in poverty turns 4 years old, she/he will have heard 30 million fewer words than more affluent peers. This was the finding from research conducted over 20 years ago, yet is getting more attention through Dr. Dana Suskind, a University of Chicago pediatric surgeon who is trying to close the ‘word gap’ through her work with the Thirty Million Words project.

Have you ever wondered why so many families in El Salvador need Programa Velasco’s scholarship support?

At the end of June, the participants in the WEP went up into one of the hills surrounding San Salvador for a retreat.   We turned off our cell phones to tune into the peace and tranquility of the natural world. This retreat offered the women the opportunity to reflect individually and collectively on their inner-selves and their inter-personal relationships.

The 3-year olds get a “feet-on” lesson about different natural envirnoments, taking their shoes off to get a sense of the texture of the different surfaces we walk on.

We are so grateful for Erica, her companionship, committment, and joy that she has shared with Programa Velasco and ANADES over the last two years. Programa Velasco is a more professional and sustainable organization due to Erica’s project implementation and management skills, innovative ideas, and generous spirit.

Each month, the child development center hosts a parent meeting or Escuela Familiar to discuss a variety of topics related to early childhood education, family development, and social-emotional learning. During this month’s particular meeting, the purpose was related but with a twist – a cleaning session of a forested area adjacent to the playground and the center.

On July 16th, the children came to school with sneakers and name tags on and with a water bottle and snack placed in their backpacks, ready for the field trip to the zoo. They had been spending the last several weeks learning about a variety of wild animals, and now they were going to have a chance to see those animals in person!