El Salvador: children in action

A group of children in El Salvador used direct action to stop damage to their local environment which threatened their community.

The River Sumpul forms the border between the community of Petapa in El Salvador and Honduras, generating large flows during the wet season with the power to cause significant scouring and riverbank erosion.

The children of the Petapa Emergency Committee identified the unregulated extraction of rocks and stones from the river as a major risk, leading to increased erosion and vulnerability to flooding of houses near the river. Signs prohibiting extraction for personal use have since been erected with the agreement of the local leaders.

Children recounted the story of the arrival of a lorry from outside the community to load stones from the river. Acting on the strength of their convictions and buoyed by their previous activities, a number of children went to the river to protest at this activity, sitting on top of the lorry until it agreed to leave. Although for personal use, this collection had apparently been sanctioned by local authorities, revealing power relations central to the challenge of risk reduction.