more religion!
The past couple weeks have been full of adventure and fun and I can´t believe it´s almost over andI´ve only blogged once!urgg
We have had four lecture at UCA (Central American University) that have consisted of politics, youth/gangs, immigration, and religion! I learned so much in each and everyone of these lectures. The one I am going to blog about today is the Religion Lecture since it is my topic.
The Priest, Father Manuel Cubias, who gave us the lecture actually has two jobs. He is a communications and journalism professor at UCA and is a Jesuit Priest in a town of about 50,000 people in rural El Salvador named ´La Laguna.` This community has a high percentage of people who suffer from malnutrition and downsyndrome. Malnutrition comes from the lack of food, while the they believe the high rates of downsyndrome comes from incest and an over-exposure to chemical toxins. His duty is to fulfill his religious duties as a Jesuit Priest, while also empowering the people of his community. He explained that this was just a sample of a rural community in El Salvador and there are many others like this one. His lecture inspired me. I was so impressed with his dedication and courage in this community. He empowers the people in his community to stand up for themselves against the government. Sometimes in El Salvador these rural communities do not get proper treatment and tend to be ignored. This is where Father Manuel Cubias steps in and inspires the people to get what they need. He does this in a peaceful and spiritual way in order to avoid uprisings and violence in the community.
Showing posts with label Religion. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Religion. Show all posts
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
Wednesday, December 3, 2008
Religion in El Salvador
Haha, I'm finally writing a blog after excess procrastination :). Originally, my topic of concentration was: Prevalent Gangs in El Salvador such as MS-13. But, within a couple days of being in-country, I noticed that gangs were not as "out there" as I orginally imagined. I would probably have to seek out signs of gang existence. Probably not a good idea.
Therefore, I decided to change my topic to Religion in El Salvador.
86% of Salvadorians are Roman Catholic(I would cite this, but I found it on Wikipedia), while religions such as Islam, Judaism, Mormonism and Jehovah Witnessess are also represented in El Salvador.
Religion is EVERYWHERE. Parks, Billboards, Murals, etc...
Crosses, Rosaries, and Catholic paintings are present at every store or stand that sells trinkets for tourists.
I have a few first hand stories-
Before we even embarked on our adventure, on our flight from Houston to El Salvador, I sat next to a young Seventh-Day Adventist missionary on the airplane. And by young, I mean he was older than me (about 26). It was interesting to hear his life story and how he got to where he was. It was his first time out of the country and I could tell within seconds. He was wearing a suit, tie, and loafers to a place that was 80 degrees Farenheit with humidity. I think his name was Jacob. Jacob's church sent him to a small town near the Guatemalen-Salvadorian border to build a location where Christains can worship. Apparently a lot of Seventh-Day Adventists are present in El Salvador. Hmm Interesting.
Also,
The first morning we woke up in El Salvador, and decided that we were going to walk around. Salvador Del Mundo, a statue of significance in San Salvador, has a surrounding park with beautiful palm trees and other luscious greenery. There were men in uniform putting up Christmas decorations in the park. Lights, garland, ornaments, murals, EVERYTHING! It was crazy. My first thought was, "Uhhh, it's not even Thanksgiving!" I found out that the local government pays for all the decorations in all the parks across the city. I wonder how much that costs, because there are people impoverished on the streets!?
Later,
We visited the church where Monsenor Romero died. His legacy is still so important to the Salvadorian People. People have shirts with his picture or famous quotes he said. Monsenor Romero was the Archbishop of El Salvador during the Civil War. He spoke out in on behalf of the victims during the Civil War. He was assasinated in 1980, by a right-wing group leader. His legacy lives on throughout the entire country.
Im sure I will have more stories as the trip progresses!
Hasta Leugo
Nikki
Therefore, I decided to change my topic to Religion in El Salvador.
86% of Salvadorians are Roman Catholic(I would cite this, but I found it on Wikipedia), while religions such as Islam, Judaism, Mormonism and Jehovah Witnessess are also represented in El Salvador.
Religion is EVERYWHERE. Parks, Billboards, Murals, etc...
Crosses, Rosaries, and Catholic paintings are present at every store or stand that sells trinkets for tourists.
I have a few first hand stories-
Before we even embarked on our adventure, on our flight from Houston to El Salvador, I sat next to a young Seventh-Day Adventist missionary on the airplane. And by young, I mean he was older than me (about 26). It was interesting to hear his life story and how he got to where he was. It was his first time out of the country and I could tell within seconds. He was wearing a suit, tie, and loafers to a place that was 80 degrees Farenheit with humidity. I think his name was Jacob. Jacob's church sent him to a small town near the Guatemalen-Salvadorian border to build a location where Christains can worship. Apparently a lot of Seventh-Day Adventists are present in El Salvador. Hmm Interesting.
Also,
The first morning we woke up in El Salvador, and decided that we were going to walk around. Salvador Del Mundo, a statue of significance in San Salvador, has a surrounding park with beautiful palm trees and other luscious greenery. There were men in uniform putting up Christmas decorations in the park. Lights, garland, ornaments, murals, EVERYTHING! It was crazy. My first thought was, "Uhhh, it's not even Thanksgiving!" I found out that the local government pays for all the decorations in all the parks across the city. I wonder how much that costs, because there are people impoverished on the streets!?
Later,
We visited the church where Monsenor Romero died. His legacy is still so important to the Salvadorian People. People have shirts with his picture or famous quotes he said. Monsenor Romero was the Archbishop of El Salvador during the Civil War. He spoke out in on behalf of the victims during the Civil War. He was assasinated in 1980, by a right-wing group leader. His legacy lives on throughout the entire country.
Im sure I will have more stories as the trip progresses!
Hasta Leugo
Nikki
Thursday, November 20, 2008
Welcome
Welcome to our blog! This is a place for students involved in Project El Salvador to share their experiences and thoughts about San Salvador and beyond. These reflections and photographic journals are give you the opportunity to keep in touch with the students from the 2008 program. Please feel free to interact with the bloggers. ¡Qué disfruten la aventura! (Enjoy the adventure!)
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