Delegation: November 2024
Delegation Highlights — by Steve Barrett
The morning meeting with the local scholarship committee and the university scholarship students was a great way to start our visit to this community where Santa Cruz al Salvador (SCaS) has been supporting education and community development for 30 years now. The university scholarship students shared a little about their studies and the challenges they have faced and mostly overcome. Several students had failed classes in 2023 and had retaken and passed the classes and were back on track this year. Most of the students were doing well and have adjusted to the difficulty of attending school in the big city of San Salvador which is more than two hours by bus from Guillermo Ungo and some are using the student housing (funded by SCaS and another scholarship group) in San Salvador to study and live at least part-time. All have a difficult time with lack of Wi-Fi or sufficient cell service to keep up with online portions of classes while at home. They are a smart, articulate and resilient group and each one expressed sincere gratitude for the help that their scholarship provides in making it possible to pursue their dreams of higher education.
The scholarship committee then shared several new ideas for 2025 including a school chess club and some new ways to encourage and provide support for the university students. One great idea was developed after a service research project (scholarship students are expected to do a service project benefiting the school or community each year) completed by one of the university students that came up with a list of most of the university scholarship students who have graduated over the years, their professions and where they were living. The committee plans on using graduates with skills in communications to interview these professionals and to use the resulting video to motivate more students to pursue higher education. The scholarship committee surprised us with a delicious cake and sang Happy Birthday in Spanish recognizing SCaS’ 30 years of accompaniment and we surprised them with a new Salvadoran Blue T-shirt for each member.
That afternoon the 120 Guillermo Ungo school scholarship students received a gift basket full of household staples and a couple new bath towels provided by donations by the prayer-children sponsors. We took pictures and exchanged letters with each student. At the same time, we had craft projects led by Corinne Barrett and fluoride application on teeth of the children 12 and under starting in another part of the school.
The highlight of the next day was an amazing graduation ceremony for the 3-year preschool program. I was proud and honored to be asked to represent SCaS at the “table of honor” and it was so fun to pass out diplomas to the adorable kids dressed up in fancy dresses and suits for the occasion! We received a special plaque of recognition from the school for our support of the education and development of this community and I was happy to have the opportunity to express to the children, parents and dedicated teachers what a joy and honor it is for us to accompany them in the work they do in providing the best education possible for their beautiful children. Maybe it is not so unusual, and I know teachers are all super-heroes, but I was astounded that the teacher of the highest-level students taught 29 6-year olds on her own and it was apparent by all the children wanting hugs and their picture taken with her afterwards how much they loved her and vice-versa. Bless all you teachers!
The next day we took a field trip with some of the GU scholarship students and community members to nearby Suchitoto for a boat ride on the lake for some fantastic bird watching and lunch and a visit with Sister Peggy at the Centro Arte Para la Paz (where we stayed for 4 nights) and a chance to explore the museum there. It was a delightful day and a great opportunity to continue our mission of Building Relationships for Better Lives with are Guillermo Ungo brothers and sisters.