Food Relief for communities in El Salvador

My goal is to raise money in hopes to distribute essential food baskets and other essential items to families affected by the COVID-19 crisis and  now, tropical storm Amanda. I will continue to do this by uniting forces with but not limited to: pre-existing efforts with various citizen run youth coalitions, organized locally-run organizations in the Bajo Lempa area/La Libertad/Comasagua etc. Also, independent projects like my own and whatever other entity that wants to join forces with me to reach as many families in need as possible.

The quarantine that has been put in place by the current president Nayib Bukele, has restricted people from leaving their homes with the exception of medical emergencies and purchasing food or medicine.  Seeing as many Salvadorans do not receive a formal salary and work in the informal work sector it has left communities devastated and without essential food items. In some rural communities, stores with basic goods are a far walk and some have no stores at all. The President promised to give $300 to certain families that do not receive a formal salary; however, there have been some problems with the distribution of this money causing much more strain on many families. 

Update after Tropical Storm Amanda: further devastating communities especially those that live near rivers and are prone to flooding; my work has increased to also helping those who are in need of new household items- namely; mattresses, baby items (milk especially), personal hygiene items (toilet paper, feminine products, pampers),  cleaning supplies and of course I would love to connnect with experts on building houses but this is also contingent on the plan of the President to reallocate  land for those who have lost their homes. This being said- a few pieces of tin (lamina) can serve as an extremely helpful temporary solution in some cases. 

I was fortunate enough to have gotten to work with an impromptu coalition and co-op in El Tunco for a few weeks!! I helped to coordinate logistics for community deliveries. The amount of money raised and stuff donated was incredibly inspiring and extremely necessary for the emergency disaster relief after Storm Amanda. We were able to help more than 5000 families all of La Libertad. But my work is not done and I still want to help those who are still in need of essential food baskets in La Libertad and surrounding areas, such as; Comasagua, Santa Tecla, La Perla, Bajo Lempa
etc.

These communities  have continued to make me feel at home and have taught me a world of knowledge while always providing extreme hospitality. If you have been to El Salvador or Nicaragua, like most Latin American countries the humility and generosity of the people is unmatched. As I previously stated,  many families are extremely affected right now as the society has essentially stopped being productive.  Each food basket will last some families about 15 days.

It costs about $15 for each basket that includes: rice, beans, salt, sugar, corn flour, pasta, oil, milk, soy meat, seasonings, soup mix and crackers, along with soap for washing clothes and toilet paper. ONE BASKET per family will be donated. If the money flows in quickly then the baskets will be bigger and more complete where I would like to add 24 eggs and increase the amount of rice and beans allotted.

 I have mostly focused my attention on  La Libertad and more specifically in the Tamanique sector since that is where I am located, with the help of the co-op created in El Tunco, it was greatly covered. I now want to spread my help to other areas in need- as mentioned before there is still need in the greater areas of La Libertad, San Salvador, Comasagua, Santa Tecla, Bajo Lempa Usultuan, etc. 

As previously stated my goal is also to do the same using my contacts in the Northern coast of Nicaragua which I called my home for three years. The people are suffering and could use an act of kindness such as this to help create essential food baskets as well for about 500 people.

As mentioned above this is an INDEPENDENT project,  local community leaders and organizations. I do not work with any specific organization, however; since I have been coming to El Salvador for years I have many contacts and friends in various communities  as well as members of local N.G.O's and foreign run solidarity organizations. The money raised in this campaign will go to communities where I have contact with local leaders. I will also contribute to local and foreign organizations working on this endeavor. These orgs. have not been established yet, this will depend on who I am able to connect with. These baskets will go to the communities where we know leaders in the community boards, I will be hoping to grow my network as I go along.

Community board members and leaders of each community are able to create lists of families that are in need within their areas. In most cases they are also able to indicate which family members were able to receive the $300 help from the government and those that have not. Families that did not receive money for the month are the top priority as they are suffering at a greater level-many left without any food to eat at all. 

For me, once the delivery of baskets has come to an end since society is starting to open up and people can work again. The money raised here will be used to create food sovereignty projects in various communities. I will be drafting those proposals as money comes in and opportunities arise. 

For now, the current goal to finish this part of the campaign is to raise enough for 200 /300 more baskets for El Salvador  and about 20 mattresses. The second goal is to raise about $2000 that I can contribute to making these baskets in Nicaragua. 

Third and extremely important goal, is to create a fund using donated money to  be used with the intention of starting organized food sustainability projects throughout the country- which would prove to be more of a solution than a temporary fix, due to the sensitive nature of donating- the idea is to help create sustainability and aid in the organization of projects that are pre-exisiting. The idea for me and other connections is to create community gardens and co-ops to allow for sustainability and healthier eating. 

Everything counts and the families in need will appreciate all help!