History
Catholic Relief Services has worked in El Salvador for more than 40 years, delivering emergency aid, carrying out integrated development projects, and promoting charity, justice and solidarity. CRS' first activity in El Salvador was a food program in 1960.
Since the 1992 peace accords ended 12 years of civil war, CRS—in collaboration with local partners—has implemented development projects in the areas of agriculture and environment, health, HIV and AIDS, microfinance, peace-building and civil society. Since its inception, CRS has also carried out emergency response and reconstruction efforts to assist Salvadorans affected by the civil war and numerous natural disasters including earthquakes, hurricanes, and tropical storms.
Partners
Caritas El Salvador is the national Catholic agency for social assistance and development of the Episcopal Conference of El Salvador. Caritas works in collaboration with local parishes and other actors in all eight dioceses of the country, to ensure that the needs of the poor and marginalized in even the most remote areas are addressed. Catholic Relief Services partners with Caritas nationally and at the diocesan level in numerous projects including disaster mitigation and relief, sustainable agriculture, integrated water resource management and migrant rights.
Programs
Agriculture
Catholic Relief Services and local partners work with rural families and communities to improve farming systems; support diverse production of crops, livestock, trees, and fish; promote soil and water conservation; expand access to markets and agro-enterprise opportunities; and strengthen farmer organizations.
Through the Agriculture for Basic Needs project, CRS helps rural families in northeastern El Salvador increase their household incomes, improve and diversify crop production with sustainable agriculture practices, improve their diets, gain access to formal markets, and improve land tenure. These efforts are part of CRS' vision of creating alternatives to migration for El Salvador's poorest rural communities.
Catholic Relief Services and partners work to curb urban violence, protect workers' rights and promote migrant rights and advocacy. Through its Youth Builders project, CRS addresses widespread crime and violence in El Salvador by providing at-risk youth vocational and entrepreneurial training, job-placement support, life skills training, and community service opportunities.
Through the project Todas y Todos Trabajamos: Labor Rights for Everyone, CRS and partners promote and defend workers rights in El Salvador and throughout Central America.
CRS also implements projects to protect migrant rights and advocate for more just migrant policies in El Salvador and Central America.
The disproportionate impact that natural disasters and climate change have on the poor, make it essential that vulnerable communities improve their resiliency and ability to manage these events. In El Salvador, Catholic Relief Services and partners work with communities to strengthen their capacity to prevent and mitigate loss from natural disasters and to manage the post-emergency recovery process. CRS responds to major emergencies through its partner Caritas El Salvador, and is currently implementing a youth-led disaster risk reduction project with Caritas San Vicente for communities in the highly vulnerable Acahuapa River watershed, with support from the Office of U.S. Foreign Disaster Assistance.
In partnership with Caritas, the microfinance institution ENLACE, and other civil society partners, Catholic Relief Services promotes the formation of community savings groups in the poorest regions of the country. The groups target all members of the community—youth, women, men—and provide them a safe and self-managed way to build community savings and access to credit. The groups provide a way for members to increase assets on their own without relying on financing from external sources such as banks or donors. The savings groups constitute an important vehicle for community organization and for the empowerment and leadership development of women and young people.
Catholic Relief Services promotes peacebuilding in El Salvador through its youth violence prevention programs and integrated watershed management initiatives. CRS and local partners are helping marginalized youth participate in civic and economic life in El Salvador through skill-building workshops and community service programs, which help build trust and reconciliation between youth and their communities.
Through the Global Water Initiative, CRS is also empowering communities to manage their water resources equitably without compromising the sustainability of vital ecosystems. CRS brings peacebuilding approaches and tools to help resolve local conflicts over water and other natural resources in the country.
Catholic Relief Services is currently implementing the Global Water Initiative, a 10-year, $150-million water and sanitation program in Central America and West Africa. Through this initiative, CRS and local partners are tackling the national water and sanitation crisis with participatory watershed management, expanding access to water, improving hygiene practices and sanitation, and promoting environmentally sound farming practices. CRS and partners are helping communities organize and plan for the future by providing training and support for participatory water governance and teaching conflict resolution skills and tools to reduce violence over scarce water resources.
