http://picasaweb.google.com/theleastamongus/MadelineBeatrizSanchez02 – An album of Madeline Beatriz Sánchez who, thanks to the generosity of several special TLAU donors, was able to get open heart surgery on December 8th to fix 3 congenital defects.

http://picasaweb.google.com/theleastamongus/SantaFamilia – An album of the 4 classrooms, library, computing center and chapel we built at Santa Familia parish in San Vicente, El Salvador.

http://picasaweb.google.com/theleastamongus/SanJosLaLabor РAn album of the three classrooms and bathrooms we built at San Jos̩ La Labor in San Vicente, El Salvador.

http://picasaweb.google.com/theleastamongus/TLAUSpecialProjects – An album showing TLAU special projects such as the purchase of wheelchairs for San Patricio school in San Salvador, El Salvador and delivery of medical supplies to a clinic in San Pedro Puxtla.

http://picasaweb.google.com/theleastamongus/December2006TripToElSalvador – An album with pictures from Fr. Keane’s Nov. 17 – Dec. 22, 2006 trip to El Salvador.

During his December visit to El Salvador, Father Keane presided at the inauguration of one of TLAU’s completed Fall 2006 projects: the Centro Escolar San Jose La Labor in San Sebastian in the department of San Vicente. In addition to buying part of the land needed for the project, TLAU paid for three classrooms, bathrooms with flush toilets and sinks, and a small water tower to ensure a steady water supply.

The benevolence of TLAU donors came as quite a blessing–in fact, few in El Salvador or in the States understand the magnitude of the gift of the new classrooms. According to Father Keane, the children who are now grinning happily at their desks in the new buildings were once stuffed into a cramped basement near the church. This in itself isn’t so bad, but once one learns that the walls surrounding the children were left structurally unsound due to seismic activity, the new classrooms become veritable lifesavers. Horror stories circulate through the Salvadoran media about poor infrastructure collapsing upon unsuspecting people during even the most minor tremors. Father Keane read one story about 25 kindergarten children crushed to death by tons of concrete raining down on them in a similar situation. San Vicente is very earthquake-prone, so donors can give themselves a few pats on the back for pushing many Salvadoran children out of the path of a speeding train, so to speak. And of course, thanks to Walter for getting the project done quickly and under budget.

Speaking of budgets, I plan to post the final financial records of this project soon. (Can anyone help me with the English equivalent of the Spanish word “contabilidad?” I don’t think “budget” works). For pictures of the construction and inauguration, click the picture above.

Before one of my previous visits to El Salvador, students at Virgen de La Paz in Tamanique and Centro Escolar San Patricio (see finished projects page) were asked to draw what they thought their new school buildings would look like. I was presented with the drawings upon my arrival at the schools and was somewhat fascinated by their very methodical and thoroughly detailed renderings. It seems fair to infer just from these drawings alone that many children helped by TLAU are very intelligent, focused, and talented, which is the main reason we provide high-school scholarships (see below). What a shame that many never have the opportunity to use their talents and minds to the fullest of their potential.

To see more, click on the drawing…

A donation to The Least Among Us requires a certain amount of trust, especially since funds are sent to a third world country where corruption is a normal part of life. Thus the employment of Walter Ulloa came as a blessing to TLAU in light of its desires to expand its helping hand to other areas and schools. TLAU had previously been restricted to working with the parochial school in Santo Domingo de Guzman where Walter was principal, and much was accomplished, including the construction of several classrooms, a water tower, and even a computer room. However, with Walter free to work part-time on top of his teaching duties, TLAU was free to consider the solicitations of other needy schools such as “Virgen de la Paz” Catholic School in Tamanique where two classrooms were quickly built.

Walter serves as a project overseer for TLAU. He receives solicitations from schools which he relays to me, Leonard, Father Keane, and other TLAU officials over the phone or via email, or he allows me to personally assess the necessity of each solicitant when I travel to El Salvador. When a decision is made, Walter plans the project by drawing up a budget and procuring a blueprint of the future structure. During construction, Walter travels to the location at least several times a week to purchase raw materials, pay for specialized labor and transport, and oversee the quality of the work. It is important to remember that all supplies and materials are purchased directly by Walter and remain property of TLAU until the completion of the project. I am constantly amazed at Walter’s responsibility and meticulous record-keeping, filing hard copies of every receipt of every transaction to show to me personally.

As I have the privilege of traveling to El Salvador to see with my own eyes the fruit that the generosity of TLAU donors has borne, I also spend a lot of time with Walter. I quickly came to the realization that he was the limiting factor of the organization: without Walter, TLAU would not exist as we know it. Placing money in the hands of various individuals and schools and trusting them to honestly execute projects would surely be a violation of the trust that donors place in the organization. As a college-educated native of El Salvador, Walter possesses not only skills and intelligence to ensure the efficient use of donor money, but also a cultural awareness that quickly recognizes and subverts attempts to abuse TLAU’s generosity.

An example of his value as an employee may be found in the case of Santa Monica Catholic School in Quetzaltepeque. An engineer paid by the principal of the school drew up a budget for the construction of four classrooms at the estimated price of $67,360.29. Walter quickly noticed that this was an extravagant price and that the school did not need four classrooms, but only two. Upon my visit, he showed me the engineer’s plans and several unnecessary items on the budget, including the installation of eight $32 light fixtures in each classroom when only two would suffice, and money set aside for independent labor that Walter assured me the engineer would pocket while having his own employees do the job for lower wages. In the end, the needs of the school were sufficiently addressed using less than a quarter of that money. Concerning the engineer’s plans he sent to me, Walter remarked, “I hope that this document serves to show to the donors that we are fulfilling our duties well and that we are using correctly the funds they have trusted us with.”

TLAU employee Walter Ulloa has sent information regarding the Centro Escolar Virgen de Guadalupe in the small village of Cutumay Camones in the department of Santa Ana. Thanks to a donation from Our Lady of Guadalupe Catholic Church in Newton Grove North Carolina and the continued beneficence of all TLAU supporters, the future of this school and the young minds that rely upon it just became brighter.

Virgen de Guadalupe currently has 100 students in kindergarten through sixth grade. With hopes to serve more of the village’s children, the school has solicited the support of TLAU to build two classrooms, an office, a storage room, and a small covered play area (similar to the one in the picture) to keep the students out of the hot equatorial sun.

I’m not sure if you can tell from this picture or the ones linked to below, but Cutumay Camones is a very poor area. According to Walter, most of the students at Our Lady of Guadalupe come from families that root through trash at a nearby landfill, hoping to find something to sell on the street. Hopefully, your help with this school will begin to chip away at the vicious cycle of poverty and delinquency that afflicts so many Salvadoran youngsters.

There is still one problem, however. Currently, Bishop Romeo Tobar Astorga of the local diocese does not have title to the land that is needed for this project. He says he will start the process of petitioning the government for ownership of the land, and because this project would definitely improve upon Cutumay’s existing educational infrastructure, he will likely succeed. But as always, a few prayers wouldn’t hurt.

For more photos of Our Lady of Guadalupe, click picture above.