Santa Clara University

Community: Amatapec

The neighborhood of Amatapec is just over the border between the municipality of San Salvador and Soyapango, a marginal urbanized area to the east of downtown San Salvador. Overcrowded conditions and urban poverty in this area lead to alcohol and drug abuse, family disintegration, and violence in the community.  The community began to be populated as a squatter settlement during the 1980's by refugees from the more conflicted parts of the countryside; the older residents of the community are displaced 'campesinos' who still miss their rural lifestyle, while their children have made a life for themselves in the city, which is all their grandchildren know.  Today the neighborhood is economically mixed: most people are working class or working poor and some professionals live in the community (teachers, nurses, etc.), which also has pockets of severe urban poverty.    

The Episcopal (Anglican) Church, Iglesia y Colegio Episcopal San Andrés Apóstol, began working in Amatapec in the 1980's, and today the parish has about 100 members and a preschool-7th grade school with 90 students.  Most of the children who attend the school come from broken families and many have one or both parents working in the U.S. Class sizes are limited to 20 to give a more personalized education. Extra curricular activities offered at San Andrés include a computer lab, a drum and trumpet corps, and baton squad, all of which have the goal of helping improve students´ self-esteem and skill set. Iglesia San Andrés Apóstol works with ¨pre-youth," youth, women, men, and seniors in weekly group meetings designed to give them support and opportunities for spiritual growth.  The church also offers "informal education" after school hours to children and adults in music, English, computing, handicrafts, micro-finance and micro-business skills, and literacy. 

Role of Casa Students:  Opportunities for involvement in the school, church, and community are as diverse as students´ skills and interest.  Some examples include: assisting classroom teachers with English, assisting with any of the extra-curricular activities above, tutoring children who need extra help, leading a mural project with youth in the community, interviewing (formally or informally) community members about their experience as refugees, helping teach community education classes in an area listed above or another area of interest. There is a willingness in the community for Casa students to use their own passions and talents to create programs for the children. In general, Casa students will spend their Mondays helping out in the school and their Wednesdays in the community with families from the church. There are many opportunities for students spend time in the community on the weekends.