El Salvador

 

I recently travelled to El Salvador with a team to build houses. the organization we were with is Shelter Helps. They specifically build homes in El Salvador. The country is beautiful and was built on a volcano. The people have recently gone through quite an overhaul of removing the gangs that were taking over the streets. If you have watched the news at all or seen a documentary on a gang called MS-13, you might know what I'm talking about. The current President needed to take a drastic step in removing the gangs from the streets as they were some of the most violent people on the earth. So, he arrested them all and built a prison big enough to house them. No trials, no sentencing, no parole, they are there for life. It sounds very harsh, and it is, but the people of El Salvador were not safe and were not able to venture out on their own.

Being in that country, I didn't see despair and pain. I saw hope and gratefulness. The people love others coming into their country to help. They may not speak about their country proudly, but they do appreciate what they have. I think when you go from one extreme to another in a short time period, you don't know what to think or how to act. So, they rebuild and find hope. It was not only life changing for them, but for myself as well. I'd go back again for sure.