Friday we went out to the field again, this time to Pequeña Inglaterra. This village houses many refugees from another village which was destroyed by an earthquake in 2001. Hundreds of people died in this quake, and those who were left had to find another place to live, as their houses were destroyed by landslides and rubble from the quake. Plan helped them with immediate needs, and a donor stepped in to fund a housing project in a new village that would have a school, businesses, and homes. The original houses in this village all have a Plan logo outside of the door, meaning that the materials that constitute the house were funded by Plan (the people had to help with the construction of their houses in order to qualify).
Village life
We were allowed to spend some time with the young children in the ECCD (Early Childhood Care and Development) programs, split into three classrooms of children 0-3 years, 3-4 years, and 4-6 years. They were absolutely adorable, as you can imagine. Then we conducted a focus group with various people from the community, including teachers, parents, health workers, and young people. All had a story to tell about the earthquake and the rebuilding, and how it affected their lives. One young girl was only 7 when the disaster struck. She is 17 now and is in charge of the “Youth Brigade” which educates other people in the community about disaster risks, preventative measures, and healthy lifestyles. I wish that I could share pictures of some of the teachers and children we met, but due to the privacy policy, no photos of children are allowed to be shared online (and for good reason, obviously).
El Salvadorean countryside
After a very interesting day in the village we drove back to San Salvador, finished up some final interviews at the office, and had one last lunch with our new friends. We finally wrapped everything up and decided to go to the beach at Playa Truncos the next day. The Playa is only about 45 minutes away from San Salvador, making this city an ideal place for anyone who loves to get away to the beach on the weekends. We had a lot of fun (I attempted to learn how to surf!) and met a lot of interesting surfers, most from Brazil (who knew El Sal is the vacation destination of choice for Brazilians?)
With our friend David from the San Salvador office (photographer extrordinaire for the week)
All in all, our week in El Salvador was a raging success. Now we are back in Panama City for the next two weeks to actually write up our report about what we’ve seen in the different countries so far. This is the hard part. On August 7 we leave for our last interview country, Peru, and then the assistantship comes to an end. Time is slipping away, as it usually does. For now, back to work on this report. 
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