How this all began with CARAVANA - a 1997 grass roots effort by hundreds of people to raise $27,000, buy 7 used 4 x 4's, drive them to El Salvador, and donate them to parishes - is detailed in a previous newsletter, written a year ago, and available for the asking.

SISTER PARISHES
There are now nine sister parish relationships between Northeast Ohio and the Chalatenango Catholic Diocese. The purpose of these relationships is communication between two communities and promoting solidarity of Christian love. Fr. Rafael Fuentes, a Salvadoran priest who has made numerous trips to our area and welcomes us in El Salvador, says:

"It is about love, about knowing each other, about sharing the life of each other. We have to be brothers and sisters to one another, loving one another, accepting one another in the way we are."

There are no "requirements" in being a sister parish and each sister parish relationship is unique. What all parishes have found is that, although we in the US have material wealth far surpassing any of the churches there, they have a wealth in spirit, faith, hope and gratitude to share abundantly with us. The parishes enjoying this kind of relationship are:

Assumption Parish, Geneva with San Fernando Parish, San Fernando

Catholic Student Association at KSU with Our Lady of Remedy, Trimidal

Mother of Sorrows Parish, Ashtabula with San Francisco Parish, San Francisco

Our Lady of Mount Carmel Parish, Ashtabula with San Antonio, San Antonio

St. Ambrose Parish, Garrettsville with San Rafael Parish, San Rafael

St. Joseph Parish, Alliance with Cristo Rey Parish, Paraiso

St. Patrick's School and Parish, Kent with Dulce Nombre de Jesus, Nombre de Jesus

St. Vincent de Paul Parish, Elyria with Santo Tomas, Tejutla

University Parish Newman Center, Kent with Immaculado Corazon de Maria, Las Brisas

Fr. John Dailey is a priest from the Youngstown Catholic Diocese serving in Chalatenango. He has these thoughts about sister parishes.

"Xenophobia is a fear of foreigners, which includes people and customs that are different. But the gospel calls us to love even those who are different, even enemies. I think one of our best ways to overcome many of these inner fears is to try to enter in a relationship of solidarity with other communities of faith and love, through a sister parish relationship. We can break down our fears when we begin to realize that foreigners are not that different. With Christians, there are no foreigners since we are all fellow travelers on the road to our true fatherland. Solidarity is a Christian obligation in the process of achieving the unity of believers that Christ desires."

Sister Parishes have had many different types of activities to build relationships and support each other. At Assumption, last Christmas, a tree on the altar was decorated with paper ornaments, each with a different parishioner's signature from San Fernando. Assumption sent a paper chain, with parishioners writing their name on each link, to San Fernando. At Mt. Carmel Parish and San Antonio, on the second Sunday of each month, each parish prays especially for each other. The University Parish at Kent had t-shirts made and sold with both parishes' names. They were able to donate some to Las Brisas so both communities, thousands of mile apart, would be wearing them. They also donated a statue of the Immaculate Heart of Mary to their sister parish. Mother of Sorrows is raising funds to purchase an oven for their village. Many residents have taken classes in baking, and now need an oven to begin to support themselves. Students at St. Patrick's School have had many and varied fund raisers, including bake sales and dances, to send money for gas for the CARAVANA truck donated to Dulce Nombre de Jesus. Students at St. Vincent Parish had a Read-a-thon to get pledges of so-much-a-mile between Elyria and Tejutla. Some parishes allot a certain amount each month to be sent to their sister parish, other parishes have a second collection once a month, and still others have a fund raising event each year.

SPONSORED STUDENTS Forty five (45) Salvadoran students have been able to go to school during the 2000 school year (January to October) thanks to sponsors from our area. The typical sponsorship is $25 a month for 10 months. Most of the students, ranging in age from 10 to late 20's (some married with children), are in junior high or high school. During the war in El Salvador, which ended 8 years ago, it was unsafe for young people to go to school. Now, schools are open, but in many villages the closest school is too far for the students to walk. Few families have any financial resources. Most are subsistence farmers. Therefore, the monthly sponsorship pays for transportation to a town that has a school, or pays for board and room in a town with a school. It also pays for uniforms, notebooks and supplies. Education is their one hope out of poverty, and without the sponsorships; these students would be without this hope. Letters and pictures are exchanged. When folks from the U.S. go on a pilgrimage to El Salvador, they can visit their student.

Molly Linehan, who recently returned from volunteering for 19 months in El Salvador, and who worked with many of the sponsored students, tells us:

The relationships coming out of the sponsored student project are reflections of true solidarity. The young people are aware of the sacrifices being made by their sponsors. And, because they otherwise wouldn’t be able to go to school, they value the education they are receiving. But in the true spirit of solidarity, the sponsors are also receiving from their students. The letters exchanged give a hint of the individuality, culture, and excited hopefulness which one finds so prevalent in the Salvadoran people. The hopefulness is a reflection of the goodness they continue to find, regardless of their suffering. Those of us whom they have touched are blessed for their sharing.

There are more students needing sponsors to go to school nest year. Let us know if you would like to help. For those who have been following Molly’s experience, she is now employed with the Diocese of Wheeling/Charleston, working with the needy in the mountains of West Virginia.

PILGRIMAGES

In the three and one-half years since CARAVANA, over fifty people have visited El Salvador traveling in "pilgrimages". A definition of pilgrimage is "a journey to see the face of God" - in the Salvadoran people. Its purpose is to walk with and show solidarity with the poor, to experience the global Church, to become aware of the strengths and weaknesses of the Latin American culture as well as the North American culture, and, ultimately, to build "bridges" of cooperation between peoples.

Most pilgrimages number between seven and ten people and last for about one week. The purpose is to see the goodness and the need of the people and return to the States and respond by action. Travel, accommodations, and food are simple and sometimes challenging. We try to experience what the people experience in their lives. We are welcomed warmly and, in the Salvadoran custom, are given their very best - sometimes simply corn (tortillas) and beans.

No one makes any profit on these trips. It is expected that travelers will return and put their experience into action through involvement with Salvadoran projects here. Some pilgrims have initiated new activities. The Spirit calls us where we are. The cost is the air fare, the basic accommodations, food and transportation. Depending on the current airline rates, most pilgrimages cost between $600 and $650. The individual's need for a passport, inoculations and souvenirs is extra.

In El Salvador, we are led by priests and other people associated with the Catholic Diocese of Chalatenango. Worship is in the Catholic tradition. However, pilgrimages are open to folks of any faith tradition who are open to seeing the goodness in other cultures and God in all people, who can hike in the mountains, sleep on a cot with a mat, tolerate cold showers and outdoor toilets, and who are comfortable with prayer. Tentatively, there is a pilgrimage in the planning in February, 2001.

When groups fly to El Salvador, they are allowed 140 pounds per person in checked luggage. It is in this way that we are able to send donated goods to Chalatenango and to bring back crafts to sell in the States. (see below)

VISIBLE RESULTS IN CHALATENANGO

When we visit Chalatenango, we can see the results of the help we have provided. Two craft cooperatives are in two towns, San Rafael and San Francisco, providing an income for several families. A widowed mother with 6 children under 8 years has a mud brick home in San Fernando, thanks to a $400 donation. The villagers, and some pilgrims, supplied the labor. A teacher was hired for $120 a month to teach 27 primary school children and 17 illiterate adults in Portillo de la Ceiba where there was no school. A sewing cooperative is providing training and income to about 20 women in San Francisco. Included are day care, parenting classes, and daily nutrition for the children. Churches in Tejutla, damaged during the war, are being repaired. Village churches are being built in Las Brisas and in Paraiso. Materials were provided for a house being built by the father of a family of five, who previously had to have cardboard on their flooded dirt floor to soak up the water during rainy season. Christmas food baskets were provided for the 75 poorest families in the community of San Fernando, where rice, soup flavoring, and detergent are hard to come by for many families. A diocesan Pastoral Training Center is being built and supported to train lay people to do various ministries in their parishes. A computer and publishing software was purchased for the Chalatenango Diocese for religious communications. Funding was sent to help build a nursing home for family-less older people who had been sleeping on the sidewalks in the city. Medical kits were sent to 20 villages that had no medical supplies. The oldest CARAVANA truck, a 1984 Toyota, has been replaced. Tools were bought for a father who completed a mason training program, but could not work without his own tools. A market was found (The International Fair) for items made by a woman's cooperative, with 30 women, in Valle de Jesus. Their former buyer stopped buying and the women depended on the sales of their decorative stitchery to feed their children. Oscar Romero University, the only university in Chalatenango, which has been started to provide local professional training to folks in one of the poorest districts in the country, is just "hanging on". Efforts are underway to provide technological and financial support to keep it growing. And, of course, we see the CARAVANA trucks providing transportation in so many ways. THE SALE OF SALVADORAN CRAFTS

Most Salvadoran people are subsistence farmers, which means they grow only the food they eat and have no source of income. Craft cooperatives have been formed which produce lovely items. Their great need is markets for their products. Many churches and groups in northeast Ohio have been selling these crafts for the artisans. All proceeds go back to the people who made them and their communities. It is estimated that for every $100 in crafts sold, a family of four can be sustained for a month! Over $20,000 in crafts have been sold in the area this past year. Jean and Mike Kreyche of Kent have taken care of the warehousing (in their basement), inventorying and distributing these brightly painted wooden crafts for sales throughout the area. Please call: 330-677-4487 or e-mail Usually sales are held on a one time basis, such as after church services.

In addition, John and Rita Linehan have other crafts than the bright wooden ones, such as hammocks, purses, t-shirts, tablecloths, and pottery available (in their extra room). To contact them, call 440-466-3207 or e-mail

THE INTERNATIONAL FAIR

The second annual "restarted" International Fair was again held the two weekends before Thanksgiving at the Austinburg Town Hall. Crafts from El Salvador as well as crafts from over 30 other countries (furnished with the help of "Ten Thousand Villages", a shop in Rocky River) were sold to benefit needy artisans all over the world. Despite a snowstorm on the second Saturday, the event sold $12,500 in gifts! Thanks to all who participated - and mark the two weekends before Thanksgiving in 2001 to shop for beautiful, unique gifts.

THE BOUNTY SALE

Assumption Church will hold its Third Annual "Share the Bounty Sale" on the weekend of May 19, 2001. This is really a nice rummage sale where we "share our bounty" by donating our gently used items or by purchasing items. There will be a special room for the "Bounty Boutique", where more costly treasures will be found. Donations are gratefully accepted. Proceeds will go to the village of San Fernando, a very remote community with little job possibilities. San Fernando is saving to begin a high school trade school.

THE INTERNATIONAL PRIEST PROJECT

We have found in our dialogues with Bishop Eduardo Alas of the Catholic Diocese of Chalatenango that there are many men interested in studying for the priesthood in El Salvador. However, because of lack of funds, they are unable to send them to the seminary in El Salvador. At the same time, in the U.S., there is a shortage of vocations and enough funding for seminarian training. The International Priest Project takes both these realities and everyone wins. An agreement has been worked out (and prayed over!) with the Diocese of Chalatenango. For about $1800 a year, for eight years, a Salvadoran man can become a priest. His education would be funded through donations from the United States. In return, he would spend one-third of his priesthood in parishes in the United States. The thought is that he would spend three years in a US parish, return for six years in Chalatenango, and then return to the US parish for three years. Recruitment and discernment of these young men has begun, and in January the first group of 9 to 12 will begin their seminary training in El Salvador.