An Overview of SHARE’s US Grassroots Program
The SHARE Foundation’s Grassroots Program is an exciting initiative driven by international, cross-cultural cooperation. The program consists mainly of strong relationships between local development organizations and the communities they serve in El Salvador and US faith communities, churches, and schools via our youth partnership program. We also work closely with the Salvadoran American community, particularly on advocacy related initiatives to promote solidarity with the people of El Salvador and to commemorate El Salvador ’s martyrs, such as Archbishop Oscar Romero and the Four US Churchwomen. Below is a short description of these two programs. Read a testimony about involvement in our Grassroots Programs. For more in depth information on these programs link to:
Sistering Partnerships
We partner with rural communities through the regional offices of CRIPDES (Associations of Rural Communities for the Development of El Salvador) . We have approximately 22 partnerships with communities in 4 CRIPDES regions. These relationships are built on three pillars of accompaniment:
- Physical/Moral: We physically walk with people via cross-border visits. We assist in arranging visits of representatives from the Salvadoran sistering communities and organizations to visit to their partnering community in the US. We also arrange delegations for US citizens visiting their partnering communities in El Salvador . Through these experiences, people connect and support each other by sharing their joys and sorrows, through faith, and through shared experiences, and year round communication.
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 Advocacy: People in the US advocate on behalf of their brothers and sisters in El Salvadorfor US policies that promote sustainable solutions to poverty, rural development and human rights in El Salvador . US partnering communities also support community organizing around many of these same advocacy issues in El Salvador.
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 Financial: We believe that communities also need strong financial support as they seek sustainable alternatives to poverty and rural development policies through leadership development, citizen participation, and women’s empowerment. Through regional projects via CRIPDES, we are supporting organizing, education, and advocacy for alternatives to unemployment, emigration to the North, lack of agricultural sustainability, lack of access to services and infrastructure, and environmental degradation. It is through these organizing efforts that we support our Salvadoran brothers and sisters in their efforts to build strong, dignified and sustainable communities. Contact Elly Jordan in our Washington , DC office to learn how you can contribute to these projects (elinor@share-elsalvador.org).
Learn more about our Sistering Partnership Models in our Sistering Partnerships Discernment Guide (pdf).
Salvadoran American Communities
Relationships have also been cultivated with Salvadoran American communities, as well as with Salvadoran and Central American organizations in the United States , such as Casa de Maryland, Milpa, CUS, SANA and CARECEN. These links create a space for Salvadorans in the United States to articulate the relationship between poverty, immigration, and rural development policy in the U.S. and El Salvador . We work closely with these communities and organizations on initiatives to promote just trade policy, defend and promote human rights in El Salvador , and in part, immigrant rights here in the US.
Check out our Grassroots Annual Report!
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Advocacy