Teosinte, El Salvador Project
Current Projects In Teosinte, El Salvador
In Teosinte, we are doing the following projects:
Health Care Assistance: The Salvadoran national health care system for the poor that serves about 5.3 million people (about 85% of the population) is grossly underfunded and inadequate, as the government is trying to force the privatization of health care by starving the public health system of funding. This means that when patients arrive at a clinic at which they have an appointment, they are told the doctor isn’t in and their next appointment will be in one to two years, and further, that there is no medication. Thus, we assist community members by providing funds for the purchase of medications, laboratory tests, home blood sugar and blood pressure monitors, and funds for minor surgeries and specialist care. And, where possible, I step in to provide medical care via phone which includes adjustment of medication doses, addition of medications, ordering of lab tests, etc. We spend about $3,000 a year on this program.
Trade School Scholarships: Youth who graduate from the 9th grade in Teosinte’s school and heads of households require scholarships to study a trade, which will give them adequate income. A person with a 9th-grade education has very little opportunity in El Salvador. They can either join the police force (a very dangerous job) or work at the asphalt factory in San Salvador (the capital) where they must live in squalid conditions all but one day a week. We are raising money to send 20 women and men to trade school, as learning a trade will double their incomes and assist them and their families to rise out of poverty permanently. It will also help retain the youth of Teosinte and make opportunities available in their own country so they do not have to immigrate to other countries. If this work were done throughout Latin America, it would end the U.S. border crisis.
Some of Our Past Projects
While the community of Teosinte organized the projects they needed for their rise out of poverty, with the backing of the Salvadoran movement for justice, the role of our organization was to provide funds where needed. With the extraordinary generosity of our donors here in the Eugene/Springfield area, we funded the following projects:
Dental Care for Adults: We provided funds for all adults who could not chew food to have restorative work or full dentures, 1990-1991.
Day Care Center Furnishings: We provided these furnishings in 1992.
Teosinte’s Land Purchase: In 1993, we provided a third of the funds needed to purchase Teosinte’s land, the community raised the rest!
Infrastructure Assistance: The access road from Tejutla to Teosinte was quite fragile, in that large pieces of it would collapse into the canyon below during the rainy season. Teosinte found an engineer from Spain who drew up plans and then supervised Teosinte’s men in paving the two worst sections of the road. The grant from Spain ran out of funds before the project was completed, so we provided the last $5,000 with a grant from The International Foundation.
Teosinte Women’s Textile Workshop: We began the textile project in 1994 with a grant from The International Foundation. The project involved women from two cultures: the Mayan women of Pujujil, Guatemala, who wove the cloth by hand on backstrap looms, and the women of Teosinte who tailored the cloth into fine products: purses, wallets, backpacks, vests, placemats, and more. We marketed the products here in the U.S. and Canada. The project was able to raise the women’s wages from $5/month before the project to $75-$150/month depending on whether they worked part- or full-time.
Hens for Egg Production Cooperative: We provided funding for the purchase of the chicks and for other expenses related to the project.
Starting in 1994, we began providing health promoter and midwife salaries, emergency health funds, and year-round supplies of medications for all those with daily medication needs. In 1995, we began providing salary support for two men of the community who learned basic dental skills and performed cleanings, fillings and pulling of teeth.
Ecologic Stove Project: Late Board Member, Ken Goyer, figured out how to make the rocket stove from cheap local materials, so a family could afford to replace it. This stove burns hot and efficiently, with minimal smoke, using just a third to half the wood that a traditional cookstove uses. This was important not only ecologically, but also for the health of women. The most common cause of blindness in Third World women is life-long exposure to cookstove smoke.
Scholarships for Youth: In 1994, we began our scholarship program for all youth who wished to study high school and university. Teosinte’s school provides preschool through the 9th grade. To attend high school, the youth have to pay for transportation to Tejutla. And, public education in El Salvador is not free–students have to pay tuition, books, uniforms, and shoes. And, university education involves even more tuition, travel, lodging, etc. The photo to the right shows our university students in 2003. Kneeling left is Rutilio who is now a human rights lawyer; kneeling right, Ventura works in an administrative capacity for the Ministry of Education and teaches primary school in San Antonio Los Ranchos; Standing back row, Monica on the left, now a teacher in a community quite close to Teosinte. Elena Noemy, third from the left back row is a registered nurse, working at a clinic near Teosinte. Middle row, second from left, Esmeralda is a business administrator. To the right of her is Rosa, a teacher at a rural community up the mountain from Teosinte. Next Alba and Carmen are both teachers. Some we have lost contact with.
