Projects and Life in Santa Marta

The crew here in Santa Marta has been busy over the last week. Despite the heat and unseasonably dry days, our students have been extremely active, going on small hikes on the outskirts of the community to see some of the areas where residents are in danger of eviction by the local government. During this caminata, students had an opportunity to probe the issue further by asking tons of questions and speaking directly with some of the community directivas who have organized themselves into a committee in order to advocate on behalf of the affected members of the village.

The group has also been working diligently on their project sites around Santa Marta, some getting their hands dirty while tending to the organic tomatoes and green chilies of one of the first greenhouses ever constructed in El Salvador, others working closely with doctors at the local clinic. Working along side Drs. Perez and Salvador, students have been helping by taking vital signs of patients in the waiting area, and lending a hand at the pharmacy.

We even have a small group of international music sensations in our midst! Raphi Shamas, Eli Edelman and Jack Mensik had the opportunity to play some quintessential selections from Bob Dylan and the like during a three-hour radio, 16th Anniversary broadcast at Radio Victoria. While Jack was jamming on the guitar, Eli played the drums and Raphi supplied the vocals while they sat alongside other well-known local musicians in the Radio´s cabina. The group listened to the broadcast back at the house, and even people back home were able to listen to the broadcast via the internet! If you haven't done so already, check out the previous blog post to listen to a recording of part of their broadcast.

Other students are working closely with professores populares at the 10 de Octubre school, guest teaching Math and English classes while doing general research on how the education system functions in El Salvador.

As students continue to work in their areas, pursuing independent projects and interests, they have many opportunities to speak with local activists and community leaders about various topics, including sustainable development, immigration, and international trade. They have begun to delve into the history of Santa Marta, through the spoken and written testimonies of some of these same community leaders, including Santa Marta's role in the guerrilla movement during the civil war.

On Sunday, the kids braved the sun and heat to trek through the steep hills near the border with Honduras, where they sat with Walter, an ex-guerrilla who heads up the Historical Memory Project of Santa Marta. When we reached the river, Walter spoke to the group about the Rio Lempa, the site of one of the worst massacres in the Cabanas region. It gave us not only a first hand account of the event, but also showed us a realistic picture of the livese of exiled Santa Martans in the refugee camps just across the border.

Our students have been engaging enthusiastically with the themes of collective action and all of the issues of immigration, education, sustainable development and public health, but they have also been able to have quite a bit of fun! They have recently returned from their three-day homestays with local families, and took advantage of just about every chance they got to teach their younger ´siblings´ card games, play frisbee, and learn how to make pupusas. On Saturday night, we broke out our best salsa, cumbia and bachata moves on the dance floor at Radio Victoria's 16th Anniversary fiesta, and on Sunday evening we celebrated the Very Merry Un-Birthday of the group at a nearby pool, complete with cake made with love from the panaderia (bakery) in Santa Marta, and ice cream!

We are excited for this final week in Santa Marta, and the students are eager to get back to their project sites!

Abrazos,
Sarah and Brian