So, I made a little bit of a slip-up, much to my embarrassment, about one of the posts on my page. I have a close friend who is a mission director at our local church, and she told me about a few of her favorite outreaches and organizations, one of them being ENLACE. I was able to locate the organization online and wrote about it (which you would have seen in the past couple of days), having no idea that it was a completely different company than the one she was talking about! I had a great time looking up information for the other company, and really enjoyed learning a little bit more about private prisons, and the injustice of it all. Life is one big learning opportunity after all! The company that my friend referred me too, and wanted me to talk about is still called ENLACE and it is based out of El Salvador and has a completely different mission. Not better or worse, mind you, than the first enlace I talked about.
ENLACE’’s mission is to create a sustainable and empowering living environment to the communities in El Salvador, and now Nepal. The organization commits to a 10 year relationship with local churches, and helps to coach the church leaders to become the change of church desperately needed within the country. They help empower them to see who they are as a body, to listen to their communities, and develop programs and projects that target 8 community transformation outcomes.
The 8 Core Outcomes:
- Develop leader churches
- Build the organizational capacity of community associations
- Eradicate extreme hunger and poverty
- Improve enrollment rates and increase access to education
- Assure local environmental sustainability and bolster community health
- Improve infant and maternal health
- Prevent the spread of infectious and viral diseases
- Strengthen community infrastructure
The long-term goal of ENLACE is that churches become leaders who equip their surrounding churches. They walk alongside churches through the process, and equipping them to transform their communities. Many of these families in the communities of both El Salvador and Nepal live on less than $2 per day, as well as having limited access to clean water, adequate housing, and basic health care. As I talked about in an earlier post, poverty is the result of broken relationships, and therefore, that is why ENLACE is coming alongside the churches to help them. They know that even after their training is done, and they did all they can, that church will remain there as a light for all those in the community, and continuing on the good work.
How can we be a part of this team?
ENLACE offers many different ways to be included on their team, and some of them can be done right from your home, or hometown! If you have a local church, I would reach out to them and talk to them about considering partnering with the organization. Through that partnership, it links them to ongoing mission trip experiences with partner churches and communities, fundraising campaigns, reports of your donations and your local church ‘s impact, as well as sustainable community development projects impacting entire regions.
If you aren’t a part of a church in your area, or at all, that is fine as well! They offer short-term serving opportunities as well, and you will become a part of a team of other like-minded individuals, and invest a week’s time and resources to see a long-term change in that certain region of El Salvador. Also, if you are a student (I always have to look out for my fellow college peers!), they have a community transformation study abroad program. This program is over a three-month period, and is unique in that students receive 5 academic courses while also credit for an internship with ENLACE. Area of studies offered are: Latin America, Theology, Church-based community transformation, economic development and poverty alleviation, community/public health, social business development, and microfinance. As well as going on trips, as always, there are opportunities to donate to the organization as well, and I would strongly encourage that as well if you feel led!
Are you willing to give up one week of your time, to give the chance of a long term impact to thrive in El Salvador?
Check out their website below! https://www.enlace.link/
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