Angel’s Story

Angel is a 46-year-old male, head of household, seen in this photo with his wife, Yesenia, and daughter, Santos. They live in Teosinte, El Salvador.  Angel works 10-hour shifts Monday through Friday and 5 hours on Saturdays at the Asphalt Factory in San Salvador (the capital). He works 55-hour weeks and makes $300/month, which is not enough to live on in El Salvador. Due to the distance from Teosinte, he has to live at the asphalt factory during the week, without potable water or water to bathe, breathing the harmful fumes of the factory. He comes home to Teosinte late Saturday afternoon and has just Sunday to spend with his family. He is unhappy with this job as it so limits his time with his wife and two children, does not pay an adequate salary and has no future.

He is one of 20 people in Teosinte–youth, women, and men– who are heads of household, who wish to study trades. In Angel’s case, he wants to become a plumber.  For him to study plumbing, he must travel to another town five days a week for the 3-month program, which would give him a certificate in the basics of the trade.  After graduation, he would need to find an apprenticeship position with a plumber to further learn the trade.  Then, after a year or two, as an apprentice, he could start his own business, which would provide him an income upwards of $600 per month which would be enough to raise his family into the middle class.  The total cost to send Angel to learn the plumbing trade is $1,500.