El Salvador is a country of artists. They are talented young women who come together in cooperatives all over the country to embroider colorful designs on blouses and hope for a market where their work will earn something toward the support of their family; they are gang members who cover street walls with words and pictures to "stake out" their territory; they are anonymous artists who paint huge copies of the masters on high walls of clay that border the highways, and they are musicians on busses who pass along the aisle, hand outstretched for a donation while singing and playing an improvised instrument. These artists and many persons like them remind us daily that El Salvador is a country of creativity and initiative.
I'd like to introduce you to two artist friends who are blood sisters, Carolina and Marta. Carolina creates small porcelain-like figures as delicate and beautiful as bone china. Marta, who because of a progressive muscular disease has only the movement of her forearms and hands, makes greeting cards, many of them with decorative borders of parchment worked to resemble fine lace. While Sister Grace and I spend much of our time identifying and pulling together work opportunities for volunteers, along the way we meet interesting and inspiring people who play a part in our mission.
When Kathy Garcia visits our U.S. healthcare regions, she promotes the mission by setting up a display of Salvadoran artesanía. Brightly painted woodcrafts and embroidered clothing have dominated her traveling "tienda". Now, Carolina's fine porcelain and Marta's exquisite cards share a place at the table. Our employees now have an opportunity to purchase something new while financially helping two women who, like the majority of Salvadorans, struggle daily to earn enough to meet their basic needs.
© El Salvador Health Mission