The Bosnian conflict ended in 1995, yet today the scars
of war remain evident and absolute. More than one million people are still displaced, living in tented
camps, unable to obtain permanent housing, employment, education, or medical care.
In October of 1999, I returned home to Boston after a weeklong pilgrimage to the village of Medjugorje in
Bosnia, and without warning, my life was forever changed. I was awakened to the realization that after a
disaster is no longer front-page news, millions of victim children and families throughout the world are
left in poverty and squalor, trapped in a daily struggle to survive amid horrible, often inhuman living
conditions. These victims of war, natural disasters, poverty, abuse and abandonment become the "aftermath"
of disaster.
Several months later, I was on my way to El Salvador in order to join a group of volunteers, like me, in
bringing humanitarian aid to people living in refugee camps. When I arrived at El Salvador's International
Airport, I was met by the group leader, Cameron Gray, and learned that I was the only group member to actually
show up. I was given the blessing of a four-day, private course in humanitarian aid!
Cameron is a wonderful man from an organization called Orphans of the World, and has been delivering
humanitarian aid to El Salvador for the past 12+ years as a representative of another organization known as
Airline Ambassadors. He very graciously welcomed me and took me under his wing. Together we spent the next
four days working in the refugee camps, which were constructed during the civil war that ended in 1992,
after Hurricane Mitch in 1998, and following the more recent earthquakes of 2001. Today, more than one
million people reside in refugee camps throughout the country, without access to clean water, medical care,
education, or hope for moving out of the camps and into more permanent housing. We also went out into the
streets with a remarkable organization called Cristo de la Calle. They are a group of truly altruistic and
charitable young Salvadoraño men and women. The members of Cristo de la Calle come together every
Friday evening to prepare meals (at their own expense) for the people living in the streets of San Salvador (the
capital city). Sadly, far too many are street children!
During one of our visits into the refugee camps, we were working diligently to distribute clothing, shoes,
and other tangibles. The crowd was very large and we were doing our best to insure that each person
received something new. In the midst of this chaos, I felt something touching my back. When I turned
around, there was a beautiful, but extremely dirty little girl of about 5 years old, wiping dirt off
my shirt left by the
hand of another small child. I was astonished and
speechless because she was so filthy, yet wiping the dirt off me. As I looked down at her, she looked
up with big brown eyes and spoke in a tiny voice, "Deseo que usted pueda ser mi madre." ("I wish you could
be my mother.") My heart broke.
The last day in El Salvador was reserved to tour the countryside. Our destination was the village of El
Mazote, where there is a small war museum and a memorial to the many lives lost during the Civil War. On
the way to El Mazote, we passed by a quadriplegic young man sitting in his makeshift wheelchair on the side
of the road. He had been propped there by his family. The young man is positioned in this spot,
day after day, in the baking sun, in order to beg money from passersby. The small change he is able to
collect is the primary source of income for him and his family. I learned that throughout the country of
El Salvador there are few social or human service organizations serving the poor, the homeless, the ill, the
displaced, the abandoned, etc.
Following this visit to El Salvador, and with the help and support of family and friends, Mir Pace
International was born. We are currently serving the peoples of Tamahú, and our work includes: clean water
and sanitation projects; nutrition intervention programs to alleviate problems of food insecurity and hunger
and improve the nutritional health of the local Mayan population; teaching of basic healthcare techniques in
order to safeguard against the spread of disease; and small business initiatives to assist the local community
in building strong local organizations that can promote self-sufficiency. We are also working to purchase
two buildings: one which will house nuns from the order of Misioneras de la Caridad y de María Inmaculada
(Missionaries of Charity and Mary Immaculate), a Congregation that originated in Mexico City. The other is
a school and medical infirmary that these nuns will operate. We plan to revisit El Salvador and
Bosnia-Herzegovina in the near future, and hope to also expand our missions into Peru and Tanzania.
The mission of Mir Pace International is, in fact, the mission of all humankind, "Whatever you do for the
least of these brothers of mine…you do it to me," and this insight is one of the most important lessons I
learned during my visit to El Salvador. I hope to carry it with me always and to every corner of the world.
Future Newsletter articles will be composed by IHSM volunteers.
