It's a week and a half until I leave for El Salvador, so I figured I better figure this out before I go. I am excited and a little nervous. I have a lot to do before I leave.
This is a little about me and what I will be doing in El Salvador:
I am a sophomore at Brigham Young University majoring in Exercise Science and minoring in Nutrition and International Development. I am aspiring to be a Physician Assistant. With these areas of knowledge that I have been acquiring, I have been able to develop a skill set in which I can use to help others, especially those in the developing world. That is why I would like to share with you my exciting plans to work with HELP International and travel to El Salvador to work with the people to better their lives.
HELP International is a non-profit organization started in 1999. Since then, HELP has expanded their work across the globe. Empowering local community members by teaching self-sustainable skills that can be passed on to others. Currently HELP is working to help impoverished communities in six locations around the world—Belize, El Salvador, Fiji, India, Thailand, and Uganda. HELP (www.help-international.org) stands for Help Eliminate Poverty, which it strives to do through sustainable projects by motivated and enthusiastic volunteers. My role as a volunteer involves participating in a number of different projects that will empower the people of El Salvador to fight poverty and win. One of the first projects that I will be involved in is training people in maternal nutrition. Hopefully through this project we will be able to decrease childhood and maternal disease and mortality. I am confident that I can make a difference in the life of the El Salvadoran people.
El Salvador is a country in Latin America. Nearly 20% of the people live in extreme poverty. HELP International has been sending volunteers to El Salvador for the past few years.
The unique quality of HELP’s program is that volunteers participating in these projects have the opportunity to assess needs in country and develop their own new and innovative projects addressing those needs, so the opportunities for growth and development are endless. Projects in El Salvador include; adobe stove building, microfinance, square-plot gardens, micro-credit loaning organizations, English classes, public health and hygiene education, and orphanage work. All these projects are done collaboratively with current, locally operated NGOs in El Salvador. All projects taken on by HELP International require commitment from the community, thereby not only securing more sustainable projects, but also increasing the effectiveness of what work we are able to accomplish while our volunteers are present in the country.
Well that is all for now, hopefully I will figure this out soon.
