People-to-People
Linking Canadians & Salvadorians - SalvAide's Annual Newsletter

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Thank you from the
Director of SalvAide

219 Argyle Ave. Suite 411        Tel. 613-233-6215
Ottawa, ON K2P 2H4             Fax: 613-233-7375
salvaide@web.net

December 2009

Dear Friends of SalvAide:

Because of your tremendous acts of solidarity and support, Salvaide continues to be able to carry out invaluable, community development work in El Salvador.

This year marks a historic year in El Salvador with two sets of elections. In January Salvadorans voted for legislative and municipal leaders and in March for a new president.  In the spirit of solidarity SalvAide accompanied our partners—CRIDPES and CORDES, with two international observation teams that bore witness to the electoral process.  In addition, SalvAide collaborated on a civic education project, which resulted in workshops about democratic rights, responsibilities, the electoral system, and combating fraud and corruption that were attended by more than 50,000 Salvadorans in four months.

Beyond the elections it has been an incredibly busy, yet productive year, for us demonstrated by our different capacity building initiatives in El Salvador; new and on-going partnerships and projects; the many important Salvaide delegations from Canada; our continued success with the twinning program and our effective Urgent Action Network.  This year SalvAide supported an Urgent Action that denounced the disappearance, torture and assassination of community leader and anti-mining activist Marcelo Rivera.  We continue to call on the Attorney General’s office of El Salvador to launch an independent investigation into Marcelo’s murder.

Because of your generous solidarity, SalvAide has been able to response to the immediate humanitarian needs in the Salvadoran country-side caused by Hurricane Ida.   Of all the affected areas, SalvAide works directly in six of the seven regions  (Cuscatlan, Cabañas, St. Vicente, La Paz, San Salvador, and La Libertad).  

I am proud to report that in the regions most negatively affected-- Guadalupe and Verapaz--CRIPDES’ youth committees were among the first to arrive and provide relief to those in need.  With your support, SalvAide is committed providing immediate basic needs as well as longer term reconstruction that will inevitably follow in the coming months.

In addition, Salvaide’s new and on-going projects have been an undeniable success. With the tremendous support of our twinned communities, we have continued our ecologically sustainable ‘Trees for Prosperity’ project.  In 2009 we launched a new project that helps build stronger communities in the provinces of Cuscatlán and Cabañas.  In collaboration with Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA), this project will continue over the next 3 years.

Please join me in celebrating Salvaide’s successes in 2009.  As a united force we can tackle the on-going and new challenges for 2010.  Because of the international economic crisis, hyper inflation, food scarcity, and now devastating affects of Hurricane Ida, international solidarity has never been more important in El Salvador. We are most appreciative that you have joined in our common cause for an accessible, just, sustainable, and peace-affirming future for all.

On behalf of the staff of SalvAide, our Board of Directors, and most importantly our partners and communities in El Salvador, we sincerely and most-truly thank you for placing you trust in us. Together, with your continued support, we can ensure that 2010 is our most successful year yet.

Kindest regards,
 
Laura Haylock, Executive Director