I’ve had a short time to prepare for this Peace Fellowship but in spite of the short amount of time –and with the support of some really generous people– I’m going to El Salvador! I’m thrilled that I learned about The Advocacy Project (AP) when I did and that I get to participate in this Fellowship. I’m looking forward to being part of developing what hopefully will become a strong partnership with IANSA and the AP starting with my work with CEMUJER in El Salvador.

To be honest, I’m not sure what all this is going to look like. In the past few weeks, I’ve been telling people about the AP and trying to explain what I will be doing this fall. Each time I realize that there are many things that I don’t know yet. As I’ve done more reading about El Salvador and have been preparing, the explanations I give to my friends have become both more clear about El Salvador and more vague about what I will actually be doing there. Even so, I think variety of my assignment will be great!

I know that I will be writing and helping CEMUJER in the area of information communication technology (ICT) using the AP workplan. I am also expecting to get to interview different people and hear their stories. The issues in El Salvador are informed by a very complex history involving a long confusing civil war. I look forward to the opportunities to explore some of those themes, especially as they relate to the issues that CEMUJER is focused on. I will probably not completely understand El Salvador but, I hope to see a little more of the picture when I’m done.