Meet the Padilla Family

Your donation to the Foundation for Self-Sufficiency helps families, like the Padillas, in Central America to make lasting, positive changes in their lives and communities. They don’t want handouts, but they do need your help to get started building a brighter future with sustainable agriculture, cottage chicken businesses, cooperatives, and more.

But, as you’ll see with the Padilla family, economics aren’t the only thing. Healthy, vibrant communities require that people live without the fear of violence, that women are respected and have a voice, and that young people can participate in positive activities. Through our partner, the Coordinadora, they are doing it!

Martina Padilla Las Mesas, El Salvador Widow; 52 years old 12 Children, 4 still live at home 1st Grade Education Income: selling eggs, bananas, and shellfish

Martina: During the civil war, we lived in Zacatecoluca, about 40 miles away from here. All my children were very young. Life was a real struggle. With the peace accords in 1992, we heard that they were going to distribute land, so we came here to Las Mesas.

With credit from the Coordinadora, I now have chickens. Instead of buying eggs for my kids, I now have enough to sell!

I feel really good about my participation with the Coordinadora. Do you know why? Because I used to keep to myself. I was even afraid to talk to other people. I was ashamed to speak up in meetings. Now, with the Coordinadora’s Culture of Peace Project, I’m now participating and enjoying it. I’m even the vice president of the local women’s committee!

Salvador Padilla Las Mesas, El Salvador Single; 22 years old Education: Studying 10th grade Work: Organizes and operates the Coordinadora’s community radio station in Ciudad Romero.

Salvador: My father was from here in Las Mesas. During the civil war, my mother took us to Zacatecoluca while he stayed here and fought alongside the guerrillas. When we learned that they were going to give out land at the end of the war, we came back.

The Coordinadora’s Mangrove Radio started broadcasting on June 2nd, 2003, with just two hours a day. Now we’re up to 7 hours a day. Of course, people want to hear more, so we’re going to try to get up to 14 hours.

Our community radio station is a tool for education, non-violence training, disaster prevention, and to communicate about the Coordinadora’s projects. We’re planning on adding a literacy program too. The more people in the communities listen, the more we see changes. They know more about the world around them, they get fair prices for their crops now because they know how they’re worth, and they’re even learning about themselves.

Local youths operate the radio. This is an opportunity for them to do something positive instead of getting mixed up in gangs and other things. As many as a dozen come by every day, from far away, to see how they can volunteer. We’re going to start training new youths so they can be a part of this. I really enjoy what I’m doing: working in a non-profit organization that helps our communities.