El Salvador Pilgrimage November 9-17, 2013

Come and journey to El Salvador to meet our brothers and sisters of María Madre de los Pobres parish in El Salvador. We will visit our godchildren and their families and participate in the life of the parishioners of La Chacra, San Salvador. We will also visit with the young women and children of the Huisisilapa artisan cooperative in La Libertad. We will participate in the week-long events to commemorate the 24^th anniversary of the Jesuit martyrs of the Universidad Centroamericana. 

This mission experience provides participants with the opportunity to witness a peoples’ theology that emphasizes God’s preferential option for the poor. We learn about the struggles of the people through visits to the Museo de la Palabra e Imagen, conversations with Jesuit theologians of the Universidad Centroamericana (UCA), and visits to the Centro Monseñor Romero museum and memorial rose garden of the UCA martyrs. Contact Ron Wilhelm for more information.

María Madre de Los Pobres Parish, La Chacra, San Salvador

Beca/Apadrinamiento Program

A program of our sister parish to provide elementary and secondary students with medical care, school uniforms and school supplies each year. Interested individuals or families may support an elementary-aged child (6-13) for $300 per year or a secondary-aged child (14-18) for $360 per year. Currently Northaven godparents provide annual funds for 16 children in the parish, and many more children are awaiting a godparent. A child in El Salvador needs you. Will you help?

Brochure for the Godparents program. (PDF-493KB)

Micro-loan Community Banks

The Northaven Human Development Fund grants support the development of micro-loan community banks in the parish. These loans help residents establish small businesses to support their families.

Canton Huisisilapa, La Libertad

Huisisilapa Youth Artisan Collective— "Creating a sustainable future through fair trade crafts." The Youth Artisan Collective of Huisisilapa was formed in 2004 to provide sustainable income for the young people of Canton Huisisilapa, El Salvador, through the sale of the handmade crafts they produce. The young members of the collective represent families who fled their native departments of Chalatenango and Cabañas during the Salvadoran civil war. Many of the leaders of the collective spent their early childhood in UNCHR refugee camps in Honduras, returning to establish the new community of Huisisilapa in the department of La Libertad after the 1992 Peace Accords were signed. In 2007 with the financial support of the Northaven Human Development Fund and other organizations, the youth and community volunteers completed construction of an artisan workshop/youth center. The building is designed as a multiuse space to contribute to the positive, organizational, and communitarian development of the youth of Huisisilapa.