Upcoming delegations:
CIS Annual Scholarship Retreat and Delegation (for sister relationships)
Delegation: Jul 10 – 17, 2023
Retreat only: Jul 13 – 17, 2023
CIS invites you to our 30th Anniversary Delegation
August 23 – 29, 2023
“30 Years of Solidarity, Empowerment, and Social Justice”.
CIS will turn 30 years old this August 2023! CIS was born out of the need to accompany the Salvadoran people in the reconstruction of the country and implementation of the Peace Accords after the war. CIS has strengthened after each new crisis we have confronted: Hurricane Mitch, the Earthquakes of 2001, human rights violations, an unfriendly attempted takeover of CIS, lack of land titles for people displaced, and other challenges along the way. In each crisis we have grown stronger by strengthening our organization, developing closer relationships with vulnerable communities, understanding their reality, and listening to the people most excluded and making them partners in creating strategies for development. We now find ourselves facing one of the most serious crises yet as a country – the dismantling of democratic processes and the violation of respect for the human rights that were rooted in and promised by the 1992 Peace Accords. The rights guaranteed in the peace accords were meant to right the wrongs that led the civil war. Many people applaud the dismantling of gang structures through massive arrests of over 70,000 people but, as usual, the poor are paying a very heavy price as an estimated 20,000 innocent people have been arrested, just for living in poor neighborhoods.
Program Activities:
Wednesday, August 23rd – Arrival and orientation
Thursday, August 24th – Analysis of the Current Reality, and Visit CIS community building housing project and Art and Mental Health Project with at-risk youth and understand the results of the Government’s so-called war on gangs in an area of high gang activity.
Friday, August 25th – Visit Holy Spirit Island, Women’s Coconut candy business, the Clean Water project, and the impact of the suspension of rights in a place where there are no gangs, but where 25 arbitrary arrests have taken place.
Saturday, August 26th – CIS Anniversary Celebration, and relaxing evening on San Salvador’s volcano.
Sunday, August 27th – Visit Women’s Empowerment Businesses and CIS Scholarship and Leadership Development programs.
Monday, August 28th – Visit artisan workshops and evaluate your visit and what you can do when you get back home to strengthen solidarity with the Salvadoran people.
Tuesday, August 29th – Departure.
In Country Fees: Include transport to and from airport on designated dates, meals, housing, transportation, guide, and interpreter. It does not include Airfare or $12 tourist fee upon entering the country.
$950 for a single room
$850 per person for a double room.
$650: no housing needed – you will need to get to the hotel or CIS at designated departure time. CIS will drop you off in the evening. Breakfast not included.
Up-close Engagement that Changes Lives.
CIS delegations are visits of 5-14 days in El Salvador by small groups of individuals or representatives of organizations abroad with the mission of building understanding, friendship and support for joint work that overcomes social and economic marginalization and exclusion.
We take delegations into underserved communities for dynamic interactions to learn about their hopes, challenges and reality, and to inspire joint action.
We do not take delegations to fix things or to be mere spectators. Delegations listen, learn, and share. We build community between delegations and local communities so they can leverage their different resources for social and economic justice through non-violent means in the vision of St. Oscar Romero of El Salvador.
For most participants -- from abroad and in El Salvador -- it is a life-changing experience.
We have 28 years of experience facilitating delegations.
We can provide this level of access because communities trust us.
We have long-term relationships in the communities and with non-governmental organizations, the national agencies, and foreign embassies. This is key to your safety.
See the CIS’s security statement and delegation orientation packet for more information.
“
In November 2005 our parish invited me to be part of a delegation to look into a social justice initiative working with the CIS to help finance student education. With no expectations and a little trepidation, I went.
What I found were some of the warmest, most hospitable and friendliest people who are very dedicated to the education of their children.
The families opened their hearts and homes to me, a stranger, and made me feel a part of their families. I have been back many times since.
In all of my travels to El Salvador, I have been in awe and humbled listening to the stories of the challenges that the students have had to overcome to get an education. I was moved to hear about their accomplishments and what they have done to make changes in their community and their country.
The decision to travel to El Salvador and work with CIS, the families, and the students was one of the most impactful decisions of my life.”
- Richard Sinning (loco tio Richard), Our Lady of the Presentation, Lees Summit, MO
Participate in CIS Delegations for Small Groups:
1
Delegations for Solidarity
Partner Organizations
Build sister relationships between communities abroad and in El Salvador
Empower Salvadoran youth by supporting scholarships and leadership development
Strengthen lifelong relationships between sponsors and youth and their families
Enrich the faith of participants and their commitment to a process of transformation.
Are often comprised of church or community groups, educational institutions, or foundations
Visit communities and interview participants in joint projects
2
Educational Service Delegations
Often consist of university and/or high school students
Seek to deepen participants' contextual knowledge for their studies via first-hand accounts from community members and with hands-on field work
May include a service component that has an impact on the community
Visit and interview community members
Participate as an Individual in these Delegations:
3
CIS International Observation Missions for Elections in El Salvador
An 8-day program that includes learning about the Salvadoran reality, training to be an international observer for free and fair elections, and monitoring at poll locations on election day.
Salvadoran elections (executive and legislative) are scheduled between January and April of 2021, 2024, 2027, and 2029.
See how to participate in the CIS International Mission of Election Observers.
4
Anniversary Delegations
in El Salvador
To learn about and honor the social justice work of faith leaders and other figures who gave their lives for the cause of improving life for the poor in El Salvador
Participation open to all. Examples: For St. Romero (March 2021) and for the four U.S. Churchwomen who were killed in 1981 (November/December of 2021)
5
Annual Scholarship
Retreat Delegation
For representatives of sister organizations and churches that support scholarships
A 3-day retreat in La Palma, Chalatenango with scholarship students and one day of site visiting in July each year (except under a pandemic).
6
Delegations to the
United States
Annual visits of scholarship students and/or representatives of communities or women’s businesses to the United States, facilitated by the CIS and solidarity partner organizations.
We facilitate the selection of the representatives, facilitate the visitor visa application process, assist with preparation of presentations, provide orientation and logistics, and accompany the representatives.
What to Expect: Activities on a CIS Delegation
We organize delegation agendas based on its objectives and in coordination with the sister or solidarity partners abroad and in El Salvador.
Visits to communities. This can include visits to homes, women’s businesses, health clinics, schools, churches, the city hall, and/or environmental projects.
Meetings or briefings: with international development agencies, government officials, universities, non-governmental organizations on topics of interest: health, economy, environment, migration, politics, gender or LGBTQ issues, social justice, human rights.
Advocacy and related education: Visits to embassies, women’s prisons, Legislative Assembly Commissions, and governmental agencies that work on issues such as water as a human right, migration, or other issues.
Historical sites such as St. Oscar Romero’s home, the Jesuit University, Mayan ruins, Cuscatlán Park, the National Cathedral, and museums.
Recreation and culture:Outings to the San Salvador volcano, beaches, botanical gardens, artisan markets, and/or artisan communities. We can also organize a soccer game or softball with the local community.
Service component: While the CIS’s emphasis is on building community and relationships, delegations have volunteered their time for developing business plans with local women, painting a mural, homes or buildings, digging wells, installing piping or water purifiers, art or reading projects with youth, educational workshops.
Are you interested in learning how to join or organize a delegation?
Please contact:
Leslie Jean Schuld
CIS Executive Director
Email: Lschuld@sbcglobal.net
Cell: 011-503-7709-3508
Office: 011-503-2235-1330 x 101
Evelyn Portillo
CIS Delegation Coordinator
Email: Delegaciones@cis-elsalvador.org
Cell: 011 503 6180 0080
Office: 011-503-2235-1330 x 107
Recent Educational Service Delegations we have hosted:
Dominican University: Community visits and interviews of human rights organizations by students in Women and Gender Studies.
University of Toledo: Installation of water purifiers by Engineering students
Marquette University: Development of business plans with local women and students in Business Administration.
Notre Dame Preparatory High School: Orientation to El Salvador’s current context and history, exchange with Salvadoran peers, and touristic outings.
Marquette University: Research on the respiratory impact on women working in maquila factories by science students.
Loyola University: Installation of a potable water system and water purifiers.
The Northern Wyoming Community College: Planting of community gardens, installation of tubing for potable water, and cultural immersion.
Somos Hermanos of USC: Spanish and cultural immersion, visits to health clinics and hospitals, and a 3-day service project for pre-med student graduates.
Mesa State University in Colorado: Exchange and cultural immersion with scholarship students they sponsor.
Rockhurst High School: Work with community libraries and cultural immersion.
PeaceHealth: A series of health care brigades by the Sisters of St. Joseph Hospital network in the United States.
More Testimonies from Delegation Participants
“
My January 2020 visit gave me an opportunity to meet students from elementary to university levels. These young people made me a believer in the positive results of our scholarship support. Meeting proud parents and teachers at the Poma School proved their commitment to these young people. Beyond the classroom, the leadership skills I saw in the students were impressive. As these students graduate and develop their career paths, it is rewarding to know we have played a part in supporting their initiative and talents.
- Patricia Lucido, Holy Spirit Parish Delegate, Kansas City, MO
“
The exchange between international delegations and salvadoran communities represents a contribution to the development of a dignified and fair life that everyone deserves. It is where the faces of love, hope, solidarity, inclusion, respect and nobility of people come together. It is where we start building relationships from the heart, like families, and breaking down language barriers and social inequalities.
- Evelyn Ramírez, CIS Staff Member, Distrito Italia, Tonacatepeque, El Salvador
“
I participated in a CIS delegation trip to El Salvador in January 2017. I expected to learn about a different culture and help the communities our church has partnered with. What I received was so much more than I expected.
My preconceived notions of poverty and the cause of poverty were completely challenged. I saw intelligent, talented, and hard-working people needing opportunities. I was treated as family and welcomed without hesitation into people’s homes.
I have been able to keep in touch with many of the friends I made in El Salvador. I am also taking Spanish classes through the CIS’s online language classes.
This experience changed my worldview. I cannot thank CIS enough for the gift they have given me and my family.
“I visited El Salvador with a few other classmates from the University of Toledo in Ohio to install a water purification unit in the village of San Pablo Tacachico. I can recall reading up on the country before visiting about how welcoming the people are. I experienced this first-hand the minute I stepped off the plane and saw our wonderful CIS guide waiting with a smiling face and a waving hand.
The installation process was long and grueling, but the locals stayed with us until the end. They were gracious enough to feed us lunch and keep us company throughout the day.
I will never forget the moment when clean, purified water ran through the pipes. The locals’ faces lit up and their joy was immeasurable. It was so heartwarming to see the people so grateful for something that many take for granted. This moment and the people I experienced it with changed my life and the way I view things. In fact, El Salvador changed my life and the way I view things.
If given the chance, I would return to this beautiful country in a heartbeat and I know I would be graciously welcomed once again.”
- Kylee Kramer, Student of the University of Toledo and Water Program Delegate
“
For our community, CIS delegations have meant so much in our human and social development. With every delegation visit we have learned how to explain our current conditions and share our history. This has helped us to not feel alone. We have received phone calls, letters, donations and support of the Youth Scholarship and Leadership Program for our children. Thanks to their support, the community dream has come true: the construction of dignified homes for our families, which will strengthen our community identity based on the principles of solidarity and friendship.”
- Carmen Acevedo, President of the Romero Community
Would you like to join or organize a delegation?
Please contact:
Leslie Jean Schuld
CIS Executive Director
Email: Lschuld@sbcglobal.net
Cell: 011-503-7709-3508
Office: 011-503-2235-1330 x 101
Evelyn Portillo
CIS Delegation Coordinator
Email: Delegaciones@cis-elsalvador.org
Cell: 011-503-618- 0080
Office: 011-503-2235-1330 x 107