Amún Shéa, Center for Integrated Development is located in the mountainous north-east corner of El Salvador. Beginning with twenty-two acres of land for current use and future expansion, the Center is immersed within the hamlet of
La Tejera, in the municipal of
Perquín, Morazán. La Tejera consists of around 70 homes and small businesses. It is a growing community at the entrance to the route to Honduras and as a natural expansion of the population of Perquín, only one mile away.
Perquín, along with the other eight municipalities in the north of Morazán, was reduced to a virtual ghost town during the Salvadoran Conflict, from 1981 through 1992. The scorched-earth policy of the Salvadoran military, coupled with the economic sabotage of the FMLN, left the social and productive infrastructure in shambles throughout the region. The returning population, showing uncommon resilience, has taken on the task of rebuilding without complaint. Tremendous advancement has been made in the seventeen years following the Peace Accords which brought the conflict to an end, but much, of course remains to be done. The Perkin Educational Opportunity Foundation contributes to the ongoing healing and revitalization in this continuous peace-building process.
Integration with the community is an important aspect for the Perkin Educational Opportunities Foundation and is being carried out through various means:
The
Maternal Care Center is adjacent to Amún Shéa. With the goal of lowering childbirth-related deaths and complications, pregnant women from areas of difficult access are invited to the center ten days before their due date. There, they receive health care and are preped for childbirth. They are taken to the hospital for the actual birth and then return to the center for several days or until both the mother and child are stable. The integration of the Maternal Care Center with Amún Shéa is through the nutrition program, through the
construction of outdoor rest areas and washing facilities for the expecting mothers and the promotion of the Center to visitors and supporters of Amún Shéa. For more information:
Maternal Care Center
The design of the
waste water system for the Amún Shéa, Center for
Integrated Development, includes the hamlet of La Tejera, with the goal
of building a model system for the entire community. This model then
may serve as an option for other municipalities in the area and
throughout the country. Typical of rural areas in El Salvador, the scant public services available in La Tejera do not include waste water systems to be tied into and so the only option left for homes, businesses and other infrastructure is to construct independent in-house systems. The normal practice for sewage, of course and even in urban settings, is the open pit latrine or outhouse as it is more commonly known. Grey water runs out onto the street into the rainwater system and out of sight. The natural growth of the population has begun to create a negative environmental impact and the contamination of ground water.
Resource sharing with other institutions. The Perkin Educational Opportunities Foundation was fortunate to obtain the use of a municipal building in La Tejera for the starting up phase of Amún Shéa. As the infrastructure develops at the Center, that favor is now being repaid. The Nutritional Center is available for community activities. Municipal meeting have been held there and in a much more comfortable setting than before, with seating and restroom facilities at ready disposition. In another example, a public school in Perquín has made their computer center available for Amún Shéa, until the resources required for that are obtained by the Foundation.
The Perkin Educational Opportunities Foundation forms part of a
permanent municipal inter-institutional coordination which serves as a resource and support to the municipality and the organization of community leaders. The objective of this novel endeavor is to assist in defining the strategy for municipal development, to avoid duplication of effort and energy and to make an efficient use of all available resources.
