Your Encounter Itinerary & Theme

Every Encounter organizer and participant wants to know what they will be seeing and doing while in El Salvador . This section is designed to help you understand how CRISPAZ sets up your itinerary and to give you the information you need to fill out the interest sheets and communicate to our staff your wishes and interests for the trip.

All CRISPAZ El Salvador Encounters include: visits to martyr sites, grassroots organizations, a rural community, as well as speakers on history, politics, economics and time for shopping and cultural activities. Unless you tell us otherwise, we will incorporate these activities into your schedule with your input on special interests and requests. This will form the core of your itinerary. If your group or individuals in the group have requests for speakers or have a particular interest in one of the areas of your core itinerary, please let us know and we will happily do what we can to schedule with those interests in mind.

We give special emphasis in all of our Encounters to the voice and experience of the poor and marginalized of El Salvador . Taking our inspiration from Monsignor Romero, we want to give voice to the voiceless. We encourage you to address with your group your level of interest in meeting with people who also represent more powerful groups and other sectors of society. It is our desire to provide for your group the opportunity to learn from various political, social, economic and religious sectors according to the interests of the participants. But, because your time in El Salvador is limited it isn’t possible to hear a variety of perspectives or see a variety of approaches to every topic you learn about. Your interest surveys will help us understand your priorities.

In order to understand the priorities of the group, we ask you to choose a theme on which to focus your Encounter. This will allow you to deepen your understanding of a particular area of interest and see more than one group or organization who is addressing the issue. Some of the basic itinerary activities can be planned in such a way as to tie in to your theme as well if you want to further deepen your understanding of a topic. If not, the basic itinerary activities listed above will be your general overview and your theme will allow you to deepen understanding on that topic.

As the organizer, you can either set the Encounter theme, looking for participants who are interested in that topic, or, once you have a group together, reach consensus on the interests of the group and focus theme. Either way, we ask that you communicate to CRISPAZ what you would like the theme to be at the same time that you send in your deposit to reserve your dates. CRISPAZ will send you a reservation form in the initial inquiry packet. Please send this form with your deposit payment.

The following are themes that CRISPAZ suggests for focusing the content and experience of the Encounter and are areas in which other CRISPAZ programs are focused. If there is a theme that your group is interested in besides the suggested themes, CRISPAZ will try to work with you in developing an itinerary that meets your needs. Please contact the Encounter staff to discuss possibilities:

Church of the Poor, Memory of the Martyrs
While all Encounters are designed to build solidarity with the poor of El Salvador , this theme focuses on a deeper understanding of the churches and communities that have adopted the preferential option for the poor and the inspiration of the martyrs. Activities would include visits to parishes and their community programs, youth and women’s groups, ecumenical organizations, human rights advocates and martyr sites, as well as plenty of time for reflection. We encourage groups focusing on this theme to stay longer than the usual one night in a community where they can experience the reality of the base Christian communities today.

Economics for People: Understanding Global Economic Reality in El Salvador
Participants would meet with economic and political analysts, members of the business community, union workers and labor rights activists, artisan cooperatives, women’s organizations, environmental organizations, consumer rights group and sectors of society engaged in creating alternatives to free trade. Time will be given to explore the US – El Salvador economic relations and for strategizing for effective mechanisms of solidarity with the poor and marginalized in the global economic context.

Rural Communities: Survival, Sustainability and Solidarity
With 60% of the Salvador population living in rural communities, this theme allows participants to understand the reality of the poorest of the poor in El Salvador and develop relationships of solidarity with communities and campesin@s. While in the city groups can meet with local development agencies, USAID, environmental organizations and others engaged in addressing the issues facing rural communities; the core of this Encounter is the minimum 2 night stay in a rural community. In the countryside, you will meet with various members of the community and their organizations, for example: representatives from the community council, pastoral team, daycare or school, youth and women’s groups, health clinics, etc. You will also have time to simply absorb the rhythms and work of daily life and to later reflect on the role that your relationship might have to the communities you visit.

Youth: Current Struggles, Future Hopes
While learning about the economic and political reality of El Salvador , participants would also explore more profoundly the specific challenges facing Salvadoran youth. Participants would have the opportunity to interact with Salvadoran youth in a number of settings which may include youth centers, programs or cooperatives, parish youth groups and public schools. The group would also have the chance to visit gang intervention/prevention programs, drug and alcohol rehabilitation programs, homes for street children, women’s organizations, environmental projects, human and prisoner rights groups and universities. This Encounter theme will also have a special emphasis on reflecting on the violence facing El Salvador today and the role of solidarity in peacemaking.

Other themes that could be developed for your group include: Women, Environment, Legal/Judicial, Human Rights, and Fair Trade Coffee. Be sure to let us know if one of these or another idea is of interest to your group.

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