A. COUNTRY DATA
Peace Corps Country Director |
Michael
Wise
|
Peace Corps Staff |
3USDH, 2 FSN, 28 HCN PSCs
|
|
FY01 |
FY02 |
FY03 |
Appropriated Funds (in million) |
$1.9 |
$2.0 |
$1.8 |
Trainee Input (annually) |
75 |
75 |
81 |
Volunteer Years |
123.6 |
132.1 |
130.9 |
B. PROGRAM OVERVIEW
Thirty-eight years ago the government of
El Salvador requested Peace Corps
Volunteers. Twenty Volunteers arrived in April of 1962. By
1977,
approximately 150 Peace Corps Volunteers annually were working
in El
Salvador in fourteen programs. In 1980 after two attacks
against the Peace
Corps office and vehicles, operations were suspended. Approximately
13
years later, Peace Corps returned to El Salvador in April
of 1993.
Peace Corps El Salvador (PCES) currently
has a total of 151 Volunteers
(including 24 Trainees) working in three sectors: agro-forestry
and
environmental education, rural health and sanitation, and
municipal
development. The PCES post is also known for being the "go
to" post for
many recent Peace Corps pilot programs and initiatives: safety
and security mapping, in-house training, migration to a modern
computing platform,
improved financial management system, deployment of PC safety
and security
officers, etc.
The Peace Corps offices are located in
San Benito, a secure suburb of
western San Salvador with easy access to public transportation
and Volunteer
accommodations. A training center is operated year round
in San Vicente, a
department capital 1.5 hours east of San Salvador. The offices
maintain the
traditional modest separation between Peace Corps (a "people
to people" program) and the policy-making
agencies of the US Embassy while still
affording both entities the opportunity for mutual support
and involvement.
C. PRIMARY PROGRAM ACTIVITIES
Peace Corps El Salvador operates programs in three areas
arrived at through
negotiations between the US and Salvadoran governments
and outlined in the
current Country Agreement:
Agro-Forestry/Environmental Education: The goals of this project are to
increase the use of sustainable agro-forestry techniques
(soil conservation,
diversified agricultural production, reduced input farming,
rural enterprise
development and marketing, etc.) and to train individuals
and groups in
environmental education and action. The project was redesigned
in FY02 to
increase emphasis on environmental education and enterprise
development.
Rural Health and Sanitation: This project's
goals are to increase and
promote access to potable water and sanitary waste systems,
train local
communities to operate and maintain water and sanitation
infrastructure, and
to train individuals or groups in good hygiene practices
and in the
relationship between health and water access and quality.
The project was
redesigned in FY02 to incorporate gender and key HIV/AIDS
issues.
Municipal Development: The goals
of this project are to increase the
capacity of small, rural municipalities to manage and administer
local
services (garbage collection and disposal, modern management
functions,
improved budgeting and revenue collection, etc.) and to increase
citizen
participation in government by promoting rural community
groups and
involvement in municipal activities. The project was redesigned
in FY02 to
respond to the GOES' increased emphasis on decentralization
of authority and
increased responsibility to local governments.
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