Mayor of San Salvador, Dr. Norman Quijano speaks with Jesus Martinez, director of Red de Sobrevivientes, about accessibility issues with the newly proposed Metrobus project

Mayor of San Salvador, Dr. Norman Quijano speaks with Jesus Martinez, director of Red de Sobrevivientes, about accessibility issues with the newly proposed Metrobus project

El Diario de Hoy published an article with quite a bit of spin yesterday. The Commission of Organizations of Persons with Disabilities have not committed to support the Metrobus project unless the Mayor agrees to make the new system accessible (by including lifts and ramps, making adjustments of local bus stops and curbs, and include modifications for people with visual impairments).

“Transportation is one of the biggest obstacles for people with disabilities in El Salvador,” Martinez said.

The current system is a socially constructed form of discrimination. For example a person who uses a wheelchair, who cannot afford their own vehicle or who does not have someone who can assist them to get on and off the bus, faces obstacles that sometimes leave them confined to their home or neighborhood. In a city without ramps or enforced regulations to keep sidewalks clear from obstructions (such as parked cars) travel becomes an obstacle course. Without being able to travel freely in the city, persons with disabilities are then forced to face another level of instututional barriers.

If transportation is nearly impossible, think about how difficult it would be to find a job, go to a doctor’s appointment, or even complete daily tasks such as grocery shopping or taking your children to school.

This was only the Commission’s first meeting with the Mayor’s office. Martinez and his associates are hopeful that in the coming weeks there will be a commitment from Quijano to make the new transportation system completely accessible for persons with disabilities. Alberto Monterrosa, assistant manager of Municipal Public Participation office, and David Reyes, a member of the Legislative Assembly who himself uses a wheelchair, have committed to help push the accessibility policy through.

Last year after complications from thrombosis (a severe blood clot), Selena lost her left leg. Doctors were forced to amputate above the knee after severe damage due to oxygen loss from the clot. She spent just over three months in the hospital recuperating and several months in physical therapy. After receiving continued peer support from Dimas Gonzalez, outreach worker for the Red de Sobrevivientes, she was determined to get back to life and finish the school year with her friends.

Selena received a prosthetic leg from the Red de Sobrevivientes just four months ago. They say that children learn fast, they bounce back, they’re resilient. In Selena’s case nothing could be more true. She practiced for hours every day with her new prosthetic leg until she was strutting like a model on the catwalk. She doesn’t use her crutches anymore and hasn’t sat in a wheelchair since the day she received her prosthetic leg. She started playing basketball again with her friends, and two months ago she picked up her old rusty bike and re-taught herself to ride.

“I fell a lot and scratched my arms,” she said, “but now its easy. I ride to school everyday and can still beat my little cousin in a race.”

Selena will be in seventh grade this year. She is excited about going to middle school, her favorite subject is math, and she aspires to be a medical doctor one day. A typical teenage girl with a very special personality trait. Selena is a survivor. She took the trauma from her amputation and turned it into motivation

Jose Edgardo Perdomo with his new water pump Guacotecti, Cabañas Department, El Salvador, Photo by: Carolyn Ramsdell, July 2009

Jose Edgardo Perdomo with his new water pump Guacotecti, Cabañas Department, El Salvador, Photo by: Carolyn Ramsdell, July 2009

Just a few years later Jose lost his left leg above the knee to a landmine accident. He returned to Guacotecti when the war ended in 1992, met a beautiful girl and began to create a life and a family with her. He says his wife Maria is his heart. Jose used to work odd jobs during the day and then in the afternoons and early mornings work in subsistence farming to provide for his growing family. It was difficult for him to work long hours on his feet because his leg would begin to hurt and swell up causing it to rub painfully against his prosthetic.

Last year Jose met Armando Fabian, outreach worker for Survivor Corps’ partner organization in El Salvador – Red de Sobrevivientes. The two worked together to organize a group of other survivors in the area. The group of nearly 30 members meets monthly to provide peer support to one another, discuss development projects in the community, and to take courses in health, advocacy and small-business development provided by the Red de Sobrevivientes.

Jose Edgardo Perdomo with his new water pump Guacotecti, Cabañas Department, El Salvador, Photo by: Carolyn Ramsdell, July 2009

Jose Edgardo Perdomo with his new water pump Guacotecti, Cabañas Department, El Salvador, Photo by: Carolyn Ramsdell, July 2009

Jose applied for a small business assistance grant from the Red de Sobrevivientes and received a new water pump. He is now working full time in subsistence farming and makes enough of a profit to repair things around the house, make improvements to his home and buy extra clothes and toys for his children. The difference this small pump makes in Jose’s life is remarkable. In the dry season, when the river is low and there is not enough rain to keep the fields irrigated, Jose uses his pump to grown corn, peppers, beans and other vegetables. He is making three times as much money from the sale of vegetables as he was last year. He used to spend long hard days carrying buckets of water up from the riverbed to irrigate his fields. The pump has relieved much of the hard labor of hauling water and allowed Jose to expand his fields. Now works primarily from home during the day and can spend evenings with his wife and children. Because family is the most important thing in Jose’s life he says that no matter what, “tiene que ir sobreviviendo” you have to go on surviving.

two of Jose's daugthers whom he calls "mis inspiraciones" (my inspiration)

two of Jose's daugthers whom he calls "mis inspiraciones" (my inspiration)

Red de Sobrevivientes is giving people the tools they need to improve their lives. Just three weeks ago, Cruz Almendarias received economic assistance in the form of a new table saw. A talented carpenter by profession, Cruz has been crafting furniture for years. He has been working for other businesses in town, but now with his own tools he can begin to work from home and has dreams of opening his own workshop in the near future.

Cruz Gaberti Almendarias working with his new table saw Arcatao, Chalatenango Department, El Salvador, Photo by: Carolyn Ramsdell, July 2009

Cruz Gaberti Almendarias working with his new table saw Arcatao, Chalatenango Department, El Salvador, Photo by: Carolyn Ramsdell, July 2009

“This new machine is more than a new tool,” Cruz said, “its independence.”

After participating in a series of courses about accounting and small-business management from the Red de Sobrevivientes, Cruz said he feels ready to take the steps necessary to open his own workshop.  The Red de Sobrevivientes began working in Chalatenango just last year and has helped form an association of persons with disabilities so they may begin to advocate for inclusion of disability rights at the municipal level. Red de Sobrevivientes outreach worker, Dimas Gonzalez, has been working with Cruz and other survivors in the area also providing peer support, medical referrals, and job training courses.

As a guerrilla fighter during the civil war, Cruz lost his right leg just below the hip to a grenade explosion. He says his disability does not make him any different or that he has less than anyone else, it just makes him appreciate more what he does have. Today Cruz is happily married with two young children and helps care for his nephew.

The Red started working in Ilobasco just over a year ago. They are now assisting more than 45 people in the surrounding area, several of whom expressed to me that they had felt neglected and left behind until outreach worker, Armando Fabian, began to visit them in their homes.

Along with other programs, such as; health, social empowerment, and economic opportunities, the Red supports survivors most in need with basic repairs to their homes, as well as much needed relief in the form of food, medical supplies and/or furniture. This is the story of one couple and the improvements the Red is helping them make to their home.

When I met Isidro and Francisca last week, their hospitality and openness left a huge impression on me. They are both a little camera shy, and admitted to being embarrassed by their living conditions. I hope this short video does them justice and captures the kindness, warmth and gratitude I felt from them that day.

CLICK on the link below to watch video

To Keep Out the Rain

Armando and Jose (both amputees) walking through Guacotecti to visit another survivor

Armando and Jose (both amputees) walking through the rual village of Guacotecti to visit another survivor

Through the Red de Sobrevivientes’ three main programs (health, economic opportunity, and social empowerment) they are building a network of support for people with disabilities living in rural areas. One priority is improving basic living conditions. Many times the Red will deliver building materials, or basic furniture such as a bed, so that a home can be made more accessible and/or livable for someone with a disability. In some of the more extreme cases when a person is found in very poor living conditions, the Red will help a ‘basket of goods’. Sometimes providing basic food staples or helping someone get running water to their home has to be the first priority.

Improving living conditions is not just about providing tangible materials such as food and shelter. The Red is dedicated to improving lives by empowering people and giving them the tools they need to take control of all aspects of their life. Through the health program the Red is not only providing peer support to improve self-esteem and morale, but connecting people with resources and much needed medical consultations. By assisting a survivor get a new prosthetic, crutches or a wheelchair, the Red is not only helping someone be more mobile, in many cases they are opening up a world of possibilities and a newfound independence.

Armando and Jose discussing a prosthetic leg adjustment needed by a member of the Ilobasco Association of Disabled Persons

Armando and Jose discussing a prosthetic leg adjustment needed by a member of the Ilobasco Association of Disabled Persons

The economic opportunity program is assisting survivors with job training and helping them to improve or start a small business. In many cases all that’s needed is a little motivation, improved bookkeeping skills, or start-up in the form of materials. The Red is very conscious about not giving ‘hand-outs’. They want to ensure that survivors take ownership of their projects by investing time, money and labor into their businesses. There are also other program guidelines such as participation in skills training courses and giving back to the community by volunteering. In one community I visited a group of seven survivors (all amputees from landmine explosions during the civil war) the men had begun working at the school as part of a community service project. Volunteering their time and obtaining the materials to repaint the school, fix broken desks and windows, and clean up the grounds. They have enjoyed giving back to the community so much that they have plans to help start a garden at the school. One of the men told me it fills his heart to be able to give to his neighbors. It’s empowering for the group to be able to give back, especially when many times before the community didn’t recognize their worth.

The social empowerment program is one of the more dynamic ways that the Red is enabling people with disabilities to change their own lives. Through the methodology of peer support, community associations of persons with disabilities are being formed in every department where the Red works. The associations are receiving training from the Red about community organizing and policy advocacy. Associations advocate for their rights at the local municipal level. One priority of the social empowerment program is to ensure that disability rights are being acknowledged and integrated into local politics. If a new medical facility is going to be built by the mayor’s office, the association will ensure that it’s accessible to persons with disabilities.

All three of the Red’s programs are focused on empowering people, ensuring their rights are being recognized, and carving a path to accessibility and independence. They are not only helping people survive with a disability, they are giving them the tools to thrive.

The medial campaign was established by the Military Disability Support Unit[1] just last year to provide integrated health services to injured war veterans and their families. Many injured and disabled veterans that live in rural areas don’t have access to proper medical facilities, and transportation to a military hospital can be extremely difficult. That is one reason why these campaigns are so well received. They bring a form a relief and an array of much needed services, absolutely free of charge, to some of the people that need it most.

free dental services

Disabled Veterans and their families can receive not only medical attention such as; clinical consultations, eye exams and dental work, but they also have access to other much needed services such as; prosthetics repairs and adjustments, psychological consultations, free legal services, and even career counselling. The campaign in San Miguel was the seventh of its kind this year and provided care to more than 150 veterans with disabilities in the area. Every month the Unit visits one of the 14 different departments in El Salvador.

Lieutenant Colonel Edwin Juarez serves as the Director of the Disability Support Unit and is also the Secretary of the Board of Directors for the Survivor Network[2]. Lt. Col. Juarez has many aspirations for the future of the medical campaign and is proud to be involved with the Survivor Network.

The Survivor Network and its dedicated team of outreach workers have been instrumental in helping connect disabled veterans with the newly offered services, Juarez said. It’s the outreach workers who are in the field connecting with the survivors on a personal level. They not only provide peer support, but play an active role in connecting people to the services and assistance they need.

Lt. Col. Edwin Juarez

“This work is important to me,” Juarez said. “For me, my career is no longer just about military service, with my duties come a moral responsibility to humanity. To be an example of professional ethics and to help the people who need it most, is invaluable.”

Juarez entered military school in 1984 at the age of 17. His country in the midst of a civil war, he graduated as a lieutenant officer in 1989. Juarez began his military career as a commander in the infamous Atlacatl Battalion where he served for two years before the 1992 Peace Agreement was signed. His specialty was once infantry. Today Juarez uses his military rank and compassion for others to support his fellow countrymen through public service.

Lt. Col Juarez had the look of a proud father as we toured the different medical stations at the barracks. What makes the medical campaign so revolutionary is that the availability of specialized medical services for persons with disabilities in El Salvador is almost nonexistent. With limited funding, the coordination and collaboration among local and international institutions, in addition to government and military, is absolutely essential to the success of these campaigns.

The barracks whose very name evokes so much mixed-emotion, for one day this month became an invigorating make-shift clinic with enthusiastic doctors and smiling patients. The Military Disability Support Unit is working to heal the wounds of the past by providing an invaluable service to veterans with disabilities.

Lt. Col Juarez and Jesus Martinez, Executive Director of the Survivor Network, have been working closely to find ways to expand the campaign to include not just disabled veterans, but former combatants, guerrilla fighters and civilians who have injuries or disabilities from the war.

“It would be ideal if we could find a way to provide this type of support to all persons with disabilities and all people in need,” Juarez said.

[2] La Red de Sobrevivientes y Personas con Discapacidad

Determined, I continued on. I walked down the crumbling sidewalks that in places appear to have violently imploded and cracked open to expose their true state of dilapidation. At times I would be forced to cautiously jet out into the street and back, using skilled Frogger-like moves to maneuver around cars that were parked on the sidewalk, trying my hardest not to be flattened by the oncoming traffic. Other times I would turn sideways and slide, to the left, to the left, to squeeze between several cars that were crowded onto the narrow pedestrian path. I tripped at one point on a tree root that was stubbornly growing through the battered sidewalk and nearly did a face plant as I stepped off an absurdly high curb before I finally reached the office.

Sidewalk?

My new sense, or maybe it’s a newly developed skill, is more like a hyper-awareness: an awareness to all the accessibility challenges that people with disabilities have to face. On my walk to work, and everywhere that I have been since I started working with the Survivor Network, I begin to ask myself: How easily could someone in a wheelchair move around the parked cars on the sidewalk? How challenging would it be for someone with crutches to squeeze through the parked cars? How would a person with a visual impairment know when to cross the four lanes of chaotic traffic? How would my life be if I put myself in someone else’s shoes?

All these institutional and social barriers that I once overlooked in my own country seem to now be amplified in El Salvador. The crumbling sidewalks represent only a small fraction of societal challenges for persons with disabilities. The public transportation system, medical facilities, public schools, local businesses, even many government facilities are not accessible to people with disabilities.

The Survivor Network is trying to change the societal barriers in El Salvador. Through their Social Empowerment Program and the assistance of their experienced outreach workers, they are organizing associations of persons with disabilities at the municipal level and educating survivors to advocate for their rights. The Survivor Network was instrumental in the 2007 ratification of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, but there is still the question of implementation. The next step is enforcing laws and changing policies to ensure that persons with disabilities not only have equal rights and opportunities, but equal access to the same services as people without disabilities.

What does accessibility mean for persons with disabilities in El Salvador? This is a question I will continue to ask myself, my coworkers, and their clients throughout the duration of my fellowship.

Only now am I finally beginning to feel settled again. After my enthusiastic introduction to San Salvador and my new coworkers, I’m more excited than ever about the work I’ll be doing this summer with the Fundación Red de Sobrevivientes y Personas con Discapacidades (The Network of Landmine Survivors and Persons with Disabilities).

I hit the ground running two weeks ago and have been extremely busy since day one: attending staff meetings and strategic planning workshops, traveling to rural communities with the organization’s outreach workers to visit survivors in their homes, participating in an educational workshop with the coordinator of the health program, and spending each day with my new colleagues learning little by little what amazing work they do for people with disabilities. The unrelenting dedication, moments of camaraderie and laughter, and genuine affection of the staff has left me with an unparalleled first impression.

Before I go into the detail of my day-to-day work with the Survivor Network, I feel it’s best to begin this fledgling Blog with a little background information…

Red logo

The organization was originally established as a network partner of Survivor Corps in 2001. Even though the armed conflict officially ended in 1992 with the signing of a peace agreement, El Salvador is a country still healing and struggling with repercussions from the decade long civil war. The Survivor Network (formerly LSN-ES) was founded with the intention of assisting survivors of the armed conflict. There are more than 70,000 survivors in El Salvador who carry with them not only the psychological trauma of war, but a physical scar left behind after the violence of a battle or a landmine explosion.

Peer Support is one of the principle methodologies adapted from Survivor Corps’ path to survivorship. Through the one-on-one support, Survivor Network’s outreach workers meet with people with disabilities who may have felt discouraged or alone in their situation. This type of support enables the person not only to heal, but to become empowered through the recovery process. By sharing their experiences with an outreach worker who has also suffered through the trauma of a disability and learned to embrace life, clients begin to find an inner-strength that sparks the transformation from victim to survivor.

The Survivor Network focuses on three distinct program areas: human rights advocacy, health and recovery, and economic opportunity. In the past few years, the organization has begun to expand their services. They not only support persons with physical disabilities, such as amputations, but are now reaching out to include people with other types of physical disabilities. Today the Network reaches 11 of the 14 departments throughout the country and has assisted more than 3,500 individuals with disabilities.

2009 has already proven to be a monumental year for the Survivors Network. In January of this year they became an independent, Salvadoran nonprofit organization. The Network is still going through a transition and learning to function as an independent organization. As they move forward, they carry with them the philosophies and ongoing support of their international partner and benefactor Survivor Corps. Continuing the struggle for equal rights and opportunities for people with disabilities in El Salvador, the Survivor Network will expand and increase their support of people with disabilities throughout the country. It’s encouraging to see program participants, who were once recipients of peer support themselves, are now becoming leaders in their communities and extending the philosophy of peer support and citizen advocacy to help other people with disabilities in their area.

Although their name has changed from LSN-ES (Landmine Survivor’s Network El Salvador) to La Fundación Red de Sobrevivientes y Personas con Discapacidad, their mission and vision remain the same: to be the leading organization in the promotion of social and economic inclusion of armed conflict survivors and persons with disabilities, so that they may reach their full potential and become independent.

]]> http://advocacynet.org/wordpress-mu/cramsdell/blog/2009/06/25/first_impression/feed/ 0 http://advocacynet.org/wordpress-mu/cramsdell/blog/2009/05/03/landing-in-darnkess/ http://advocacynet.org/wordpress-mu/cramsdell/blog/2009/05/03/landing-in-darnkess/#comments Sun, 03 May 2009 19:26:19 +0000 Carolyn Ramsdell

Sunset over Mexico

Tuesday, June 9, 2009, Continental Airlines flight 854 from Houston to San Salvador flew over southern Mexico just as the sun began to set. As I gazed out the window at the fading light, I began to wonder what adventures and new experiences I would find in San Salvador. Working for Survivor Corps-El Salvador (La Red de Sobrevivientes y Personas con Discapacidades) will surely prove to be a challenging and worthwhile way to spend the summer.

I wasn’t sure what to expect when my plane touched down in the darkness…but I was prepared for whatever the morning light would bring on a new day in a new city.