La Canoa (Comunidad Octavio Ortiz)
La Canoa, also known as Comunidad Octavio Ortiz, is a small community located on the banks of the Rio Lempa, approximately 18 km south of the Litoral Highway in the Lower Lempa region of Usulután. Current residents resettled in La Canoa on November 30, 1992 from Comunidad Segundo Montes in Morazán, and renamed the community for Father Octavio Ortiz, a Catholic Priest who the Salvadoran military killed for working with the poor in San Salvador.
The community, which is incorporated as a cooperative, is well organized with a strong local governing body (la Directiva). La Canoa has one school that serves grades K-6, a Child Development Center, a small community health clinic, and a community center. In addition, the community has a strong women’s committee, a youth organization, a health committee, a parent’s association, a Catholic Pastoral Team, and an ALGES chapter for the war-wounded. Though La Canoa dissolved the agricultural cooperative, farmers continue to work together to raise livestock, process sugarcane, and cultivate vegetables. While agriculture is the primary economic activity, the community is served by five small stores, and several families are engaged in other activities such as making hammocks and piñatas.
La Canoa has a partner-community relationship with the South Bay Sanctuary Covenant (SBSC) in Palo Alto CA. This has been a very productive exchange over the years. Voices coordinates an annual SBSC delegation to visit La Canoa that visits with their local partners, checks on projects they’ve funded over the year, and keeps them updated on current affairs in La Canoa.
(La Canoa is served by an ASPS health promoter, Aricely (pictured above), who is funded by SBSC)