Engracia's inspiring story

Engracia is respected in the community

When Han Dijsselbloem, Plan’s Country Director for El Salvador, recently visited a community in El Salvador that Plan had worked in several years ago he was expecting the usual local success stories, but he was still caught off-guard by one woman’s inspirational story. Han tells the story;

“We meet Engracia, who invites us to sit while she gently swings the hammock in which her four-month old granddaughter is taking a nap in the sweltering afternoon heat.

“I introduce myself and ask Engracia to share her thoughts on what she thinks have been Plan’s most significant accomplishments during the organisation’s time in the village of Las Mesitas.”

She says; ‘My mother enrolled my baby brother into Plan’s sponsorship scheme, something she and my dad had serious arguments over, because at the time — with the threat of civil war looming — some people rumoured that Plan actually wanted to steal the children.

‘The fight between my parents over this was often so serious that my mother sometimes asked me to attend Plan meetings instead of her, so that my dad wouldn’t find out.

‘In one of those meetings the children were asked to write a letter to their overseas sponsors. Because my brother was still too small, I wrote the letter on his behalf. Most of us had never written a letter before, so we received guidance from the Plan community worker.

‘When the Plan social worker saw it, she told everyone to drop their pencils and listen while she read my letter out loud. She said it was well written and a positive example for the others.

Children write letters to their sponsors

‘The next time the children had to write letters, the Plan worker asked me to help. Soon, I was working as a Plan volunteer supporting sponsorship communications in my community! I did so for many years, writing and receiving letters became a welcome distraction during the eleven dark years of war.

‘When the war ended in 1991, I was a grown woman and a mother myself. All those years I had continued to work with every Plan community workers, as they changed over the years.

‘Around this time, Plan began training members of the community to manage the projects themselves, through forming a committee... because of my past experience with Plan, I soon earned a place as a member for one of the very first projects.

‘This went well and it was recognised by my fellow community members that I was doing more work than most of the others, so that in subsequent projects I was given increasingly important roles; from secretary to treasurer and even to chairman of committees. I managed some of the largest development projects in this community.

‘So, sir, to your question as to what I think was the most significant contribution Plan made, I’d have to answer; ‘You’re looking at her!’

‘From a shy adolescent I have become an active and respected community leader. We continue to improve our community thanks to the skills and experience we acquired and have even been asked to share our experience with future leaders from other communities who were in training.’

“Her compelling story reminds me once more that development work is not about people having things but, more importantly, about people having the repsonsibility to do things.”

Plan's support

Plan worked with the community of Las Mesitas, in the area of Chalatenango, for over twenty years. Between 1978 and 1999, Plan supported the installation of water and electricity systems; helped build a school and new homes; improved and equipped a nearby health post; provided training for rural health promoters and taught farmers to improve agricultural techniques.

Since then, the sustainable projects continue to be confidently managed by the community themselves through local community-based organisations, which Plan helped established.