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A few of Voices On The Border's current projects |
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Amando Lopez Forest Preserve Project
Two years ago we began accompanying the community of Amando Lopez in their efforts to protect a section of forest along the Lempa River. In the first year, the project raised community awareness about how valuable the forest is to the community and secured protective status from government officials.
In 2011, the community and Voices developed a forest management and protection plan and increased the board’s capacity to manage the forest. One important achievement was leveraging a $10,000 grant we received from the Flora Family Foundation to secure another $10,000 in support from the Ministry of the Environment. The extra funds will provide salaries for a team of local forest rangers, and finance related projects such as energy forests (stands of fast-growing trees planted in agricultural plots to provide quick sources of firewood).
The value of the project was evident in October 2011. As communities upriver suffered the worst flooding in the region’s history, Amando Lopez escaped with only minor damage. Community members credit the forest for absorbing the majority of floodwaters from the Lempa River and neighboring communities praised the board for their management and preservation efforts.
In December 2011, the Flora Family Foundation approved another grant that will allow the Amando Lopez community board and Voices to continue this project for a third year. |
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Comunidad Octavio Ortiz (C.O.O.) Irrigation Systems
Climate change has made farming in the Lower Lempa a risky venture, as witnessed in October when floodwaters destroyed the region’s crops. Two years ago, farmers lost their first planting of corn to drought, and their second planting to floods. To give farmers more control over growing conditions, Voices and the South Bay Sanctuary Covenant helped farmers in C.O.O. install irrigation systems. The systems allow farmers to grow crops in the dry season and survive droughts, and avoid planting in the months when floods are most likely to occur. The investment in irrigation systems is already paying off. Farmers who lost their crops in October 2011 will harvest their next crop as early as February 2012, decreasing their dependence on international food aid. The irrigation systems mean greater food security and economic independence.
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Dew Drops and Cabanas Report
In 2011, Voices helped youth working for the Association for Economic and Social Development of Santa Marta (ADES) produce a documentary called “Dew Drops that Go to the Sea: A Video Manual for Environmental Resistance.” The one-hour film documents efforts by Cabañas civil society organizations to prevent mining. The youth’s goal was to share the region’s lessons-learned with other communities struggling to protect their environment. The film has been shown at the National University, the University of Central America, at the ESFOTO convention, the Lutheran University, and many other places. ADES is providing copies of the film to communities and organizations throughout Central American. It is available with subtitles in English – please drop us an email (andi@votb.org) to receive a copy.
We also completed our report on the threats, attacks, and murders that have plagued Cabañas since 2006. The final report will be published in Spanish and English in early 2012. |
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Reproductive Health Education
We are continuing to develop a reproductive health education initiative in the
Lower Lempa. We have partnered with University of New Mexico medical students
who have put together kits that contain all of the materials necessary for a school or
community to create its own education project. The UNM team is partnering with
ASPS health promoters, who are already working with youth on reproductive health
and HIV/AIDS education. |
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Cultural Preservation Project
Residents of the Lower Lempa are from all over El Salvador – Morazán, La Unión, and elsewhere. Most were displaced during the civil war and resettled in the Lower Lempa when the Peace Accords were signed. The population is heterogeneous with an indigenous ancestry that has been oppressed and hidden for generations. For the past two years, Voices, Horizons of Friendship, United Communities, and others have implemented a Cultural Preservation Project, in which local communities come together to identify, build and protect cultural awareness.
For two years, United Communities and community boards have organized activities to promote cultural awareness and identity, and provide youth with artistic and recreational spaces, so they may develop a strong sense of identity and pride. In a short time, local communities have formed several music groups and dance troops for youth. Schools are on board and have incorporated cultural identity into their curriculum, and encourage students to participate in community initiatives. United Communities successfully advocated for government support of these initiatives and implementation of cultural preservation policies. Four government institutions and two private universities recognize the cultural patrimony in the Lower Lempa and facilitate related research and documentation efforts.
To promote greater awareness and participation, Voices and United Communities have helped locals identify the cultural traditions of their ancestors, and means of expressing and sharing that culture with others. We have supported corn festivals, important anniversaries, farmers markets, and music festivals. United Communities has also used soccer camps to bring youth together, which helps to build a sense of identity for the Lower Lempa region as a whole.
Project participants are also identifying the common culture and shared history that has developed in the 20 years they have lived together in the Lower Lempa. All of the people in the region who were in exile or displaced during the war, have now experienced several catastrophic events including earthquakes and several floods. Through interviews and research, these experiences are being documented and will be published in 2012. |
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Morazán Volunteer
Voices has had a volunteer in Ciudad Segundo Montes continually since 2008 . Recent college graduates have come to El Salvador to spend a year to 18 months living and accompanying our partners in the mountains of Morazán. The position strengthens our presence in the communities and helps to form committed world citizens with a unique perspective on development issues.
In 2011 Jessica Reilly has collaborated with both the Segundo Montes Foundation (SMF) and a youth group called OSCA. With SMF she has worked with project leaders to impart sexual and reproductive health workshops in middle and high schools around Morazán. With OSCA and other local youth committee’s she has led a mural painting initiative that will continue into 2012. She will complete two years with Voices before returning to the US for grad school in June.
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