About El Salvador
El Salvador is the smallest country in Central America with an area of only 8,123 square miles and a dense population of 6 million people. Their official language is Spanish and its currency is the U.S. dollar.
From a Civil War to Gangs:
- El Salvador went through 12 years of civil war from 1979-1992. An unknown number of people disappeared during the conflict and UN reports that more than 75,000 were killed. A generation of families lost the Male figure and many were left fatherless.
- It also included the deliberate terrorizing and targeting of civilians by death squads, the recruitment of child soldiers, and other violations of human rights. Violence is ingrained in the culture; dead bodies on the side of the road is part of every day life.
- Peace agreements in 1992 reduced military forces to 1/3 and eliminated guerilla armed forces. Guerilla leaders became a political party. Unemployment and lack of re-insertion programs created conditions for organized crime. This gave origin to gangs and people are living in fear all the time.
El Salvador’s Current Social Problems:
A. Crime & Gangs
El Salvador is one of the most dangerous countries in the world even though its not at war. At the beginning of 2016 homicides rate was 23 people per day due to gang activity. Soldiers have been deployed to streets and reduced it to 11-13 per day.
Read Article Link here “El Salvador becomes world’s most deadly country outside a war zone”
B. Emigration:
Illegal emigration of Salvadoreans to the US are even greater now than during their civil war. The poverty, lack of opportunities, crime and gangs are forcing them to leave the country and destroying the family structure. The teenagers are being recruited to join the gangs MS13 or MS18 and if they refuse, they’re killed. US border patrols are intercepting an increasing number of un-accompanied children (0-17yrs old) during 2016.
Read Article Link here “Why tens of thousands of kids from El Salvador continue to flee to the United States”
C. Abuse Statistics
Because of the loss of the family structure, a lot of these kids have been victims of abuse. Many men come and go from their homes and would sickly take advantage of the boys and girls. The statistics for sexual abuse in this country is super high (when even reported), so we are also giving these kids a safe environment to heal within a loving Christ like family, pointing them to know Christ as their Healer and Savior. This is no easy task but I pray that we will endure to the end in all that we do, truly for Christ!
Read Article here “How violence affects women in El Salvador”