For years, rural communities of the lower Lempa River Valley were isolated during the rainy season. Juan Carlos couldn’t get livestock to market and Juanita couldn’t take her child to the hospital. Promises to fix the roads and build a…
More than 6,000 men, women, and children were murdered in El Salvador in 2015. Tens of thousands are fleeing to the United States. But 22-year old Gabriela is trying to write a different story. “My mother went to the United…
In 1999, a building was constructed in Barahona to serve as a health home for that community. It went unused for the last 10 years. People took a whole day to travel for medical care. In 2015, Bishop Bolanos joined…
Gabriela is 22 years old. She lives with her grandparents in El Salvador. Her parents fled to the United States when she was nine. She could feel sorry for herself. She could be a victim of violence in her country.…
“Casa de Salud”, the clinic built to serve the 600 families in Barahona and the surrounding villages was re-opened after being closed for more than ten years. This victory came after several months of negotiations with public officials. Catholic Bishop…
While Guatemalan political protest is turning national politics upside down, forcing the entire administration out of office, COFOA leaders are working to make local political leaders accountable as well. About one-hundred community leaders met with candidates for Office of Mayor…
Ms. Yanira Marklin James has expressed her distress at being forced to wait for hours to get her young son with a serious heart condition across the Rio Roldan. Now she is celebrating with Pr. Cortes and Bishop Alvarado, Anglican…
Rural roads, sometimes impassable during the rainy season, are now being repaired due to public pressure by the farmers trained and organized by COFOA at the invitation of the El Carmen’s Anglican Church in El Salvador. Negotiations with the mayor's…
Sixty leaders from villages of the Lower Lempa River valley met to advance their struggle for the construction of the bridge over Rio Roldan. Many of these leaders are veterans of the war in El Salvador. These residents of El…
Cardinal Oscar Rodriguez addressed 300 PICO leaders from the United States to kick off a “Year of Encounter: Confronting the Economy of Exclusion”. Exclusion is a reality for many in the United States, but for many, many more in the…
