Encounter with the protagonists of change in El Salvador: Day 1 in Panchimalco

At the beginning of September we were visited by Elizabeth Pellecer, a SERES volunteer and current student of Social Development in a university in the Czech Republic. The purpose of her visit was to study the impact that the programs Youth Leaders for the Pachamama have had in Panchimalco, San Salvador and El Papaturro, Suchitoto. The first day, we visited Panchimalco, where we recently had a YLP. We had the opportunity of sharing with eight young people from the community and they shared their experience in the program. Some of the phrases they shared describe new knowledge and connections. One of the participants said that she “discovered that we are part of this place. We have identified ourselves as young leaders”. Another young man said, “I discovered that we have the capacity to be agents of change”. They told us how much the program meant to them, because it helped them discover their own leadership even more, and the power they have to make their communities and municipality better. Additionally, they expressed their concern for what is happening in the world in terms of the environment, and their commitment with the vision of a better future. “SERES came and changed our vision, and we are changing the vision of other people”, were the words of one of the young leaders. We also had the chance to know the municipal authorities’ opinion about the young leaders. One of the people we spoke to, who supports this group of agents of change with inspiration and commitment, expressed that after they finished the YLP, the young leaders have visited the school principal to work with them. It’s wonderful to see the recognition that these young people are getting from the municipality and the Youth Network of Panchimalco (Red Juvenil de Panchimalco), which they belong to. We were able to know about progress they are making in three of the projects they designed at the YLP focused on reforestation, environmental education, and sexual education. They are currently working on all three and involving more young people from the network. We also heard the inputs of some of the first young people that participated in the program in 2012 and that have maintained their commitment to youth since then. Some of them have shared these processes with other young people in their municipality and have participated in other training spaces from SERES, and one of them is a local ambassador. The volunteer that went with us said that “you can see that the YLP changes their lives, their opinions and they discover their capacity”. This study will help us continue to innovate this program, give better follow up to young people on their projects and connect them with more change agents.  See you soon! Coming soon: Day 2 in El Papaturro.