Santa Clara University

Community: La Chacra

Praxis Sites: Fe y Alegria

La Chacra is a very poor, urban community in San Salvador located just 5 minutes from the center of San Salvador.  The parish, Maria Madre de los Pobres, is an extremely active community offering many services to the community – most of whom to do not live a dignified life due to urban poverty issues.  The parish is run by a group of very committed and active lay people who serve on the parish council.  53 people are employed through the parish and offer a variety of services such as a child care center for working parents (usually single moms); a bakery; a kitchen that prepares food for the children at the day care center; a reconstruction project (as a result of the recent earthquakes); a medical clinic, laboratory, pharmacy, and eye clinic; computer center and classes; sports program for at-risk youth; youth groups; a local school “Fe y Alegría” that offers education to children most in need; a “godparent” program for children in the community; and a support group for single moms.  The parish has many “sister” relationships with parishes in the United States and in Europe and is accustomed to accompanying and teaches “foreigners” about the reality of the poor in El Salvador.

Fe y Alegria is a primary school in an area that is committed to serving the poorest of the poor. The Founder of Fe y Alegria in El Salvador, Salvadoran Padre Lopez y Lopez, was one of the 6 Jesuits killed at the UCA in 1989. Fe y Alegría is based on the notion that all children are born in the image of God and all have the right to develop to their fullest potential, with education being at the root of such development. The school serves over 800 children in La Chacra. Fe y Alegría has centers of learning throughout Central and South America. 

Role of Casa Student:  Students spend half of their day in a classroom setting at Fe y Alegría, providing much needed support to teachers and students.  Activities depend on personal interests and experience (teaching sports, 1-1 tutoring, teacher’s aid, English classes for faculty, administrative tasks, etc.).  The other half of the praxis day is spent in the parish.  There, students spend much time with the parish priest (a very dynamic and newly assigned priest to the community) making home visits in the community to get a better understanding of the reality in which the people in the community are forced to live.  Also, students spend time getting to know the various services offered by the parish to the surrounding communities.  Depending on personal interests, students have the opportunity to select in what projects they would like to be more involved throughout the semester.