“We don’t go there to solve big problems, but instead to help people solve their own problems,” Quigley says. “We have developed very good relationships with many villagers over the years. They look forward to seeing us every year and say they are encouraged by what we do for them.”

Land of contrasts
According to The World Book Encyclopedia, El Salvador is the smallest nation in Central America in size, but the third largest in population with nearly seven million inhabitants. Its economy is largely based on agriculture, with beans, coffee, corn, cotton, rice, and sugar cane its primary crops. The country’s wealth is heavily concentrated among the top 6% of wageearners.

“The remaining 94% of the population is basically destitute,” Donovan says. “A good job in El Salvador will earn people about $2,000 a year. Many people live essentially on a dollar a day.”

A major focus of this year’s visit, Quigley says, was improving educational opportunities for children residing in impoverished areas.

‘Sense of hope’
“We brought backpacks, shoes, clothing, and other items with us and donated them to children in El Salvador,” Quigley says. “In many areas, children are not allowed to even attend school if they lack basic materials and supplies, so we were glad to help out. It gives these children a sense of hope.”

Since her initial visit to El Salvador a decade ago, Quigley says dire living conditions in the country have ominously accelerated an increase in gang violence.

“Gangs have become really threatening in El Salvador and violence is rising,” she says. “There are a lot of young people in El Salvador today, but also a lot of joblessness, so gangs become attractive to them. We’re doing our best to combat this trend.”

Quigley stresses that programs sponsored by Heifer International (which solicits funds to purchase animals that it donates to impoverished people throughout the world) and the Grameen Bank (which provides credit to poor people around the globe to fight poverty and promote socio-economic development) help to allay the burdens of El Salvador’s poor.

Much work remains
Donovan says while progress has been made in many areas of El Salvador in recent years, much work remains to be done.

“In small villages, there is no electricity, running water, or public transportation,” he says. “Sanitation problems are serious and disease is rampant. We try to help these people build and rebuild their homes and improve their lives. The most amazing thing is they don’t complain about their conditions.”

Quigley is equally upbeat about the success of humanitarian efforts in El Salvador. “I was impressed by the villages we visited and the people we saw in rural areas who have been positively impacted by programs designed to help them,” she says. “We have been visiting the same villages for years and have seen our actions take results. It’s always a fantastic experience.”

For Quigley, this year’s sojourn marked her tenth trip to El Salvador, while Donovan traveled there for the fourth time. This year’s assemblage from the North Shore included high school students, school teachers, a physician and his wife, a poet, and a social worker. Quigley says approximately eight other Brooksby Village staff and residents are actively involved in supporting the program.

“Every year, new people join us and we all work well with those from El Salvador,” Quigley says. “We build strong friendships while we are there, making it a wonderful experience.”

Plan to return
Donovan and Quigley both say they plan to return to El Salvador in the future.

“I hope to go back again next year,” Donovan says, who has lived at Brooksby for the past six years. “It’s a tiring experience, but it’s also a wonderful thing to do and pays big dividends in developing a sense of giving back. It’s a busy, busy time every day, sunup to sundown.”

Quigley says she hopes to arrange two trips to El Salvador in 2008.

“Every year, we learn something new,” she says. “I love to take people there. We have a different mission every time we go. It’s a wonderful group, and I am honored to be a part of it.”

Click here for the eChronicles Blog and read first hand accounts from the volunteers in El Salvador!