Union Rescue Mission, in partnership with Giving Children Hope and Fundación Salvadoreña (known as FUSAL) delivers pharmaceutical supplies to needy families in El Salvador.
Story by Joe Callahan, Director of Gifts-In-Kind, who recently went to El Salvador to help those in need.
(Proud mothers with healthy babies delivered at the hospital)
El Salvador is a beautiful country. It is green, tropical, and filled with natural beauty that took my breath away as I toured the county. However, El Salvador has many who live without running water, without electricity, and without the things most 21st century people take for granted. Among the things many Salvadorians live without are nutritional food, quality medical supplies, and medical care. FUSAL is providing the boots on the ground in El Salvador where they are working to make a difference for the poor people who need their help. Gabriela de Hurtado, MD, was my tour guide and interpreter while I visited two FUSAL assisted hospitals and a program site, and spoke with some of the people being helped through our cooperative efforts in El Salvador.
(Dr. Gabriela de Hurtado standing next to a FUSAL vehicle, taken on the last day of my visit in El Salvador.)
In this shipment, FUSAL received medicines for use to combat intestinal disorders, vitamins, antibiotic creams, and antibiotic pills and tablets. These items, and other medical supplies provided by Union Rescue Mission and Giving Children Hope in previous shipments, are making a difference for the people of El Salvador. The following programs are being operated by FUSAL:
- Medical Aid Distribution Program – distributes medical supplies
- Libras de Amor (Pounds of Love) – distributes food and provides nutritional training, including training to raise chickens or other animals for food and as sources of income.
- Education Programs – classrooms for the many children who have dropped out of school to help support the family.
- Luis Poma Training Center – Adult professional development in support of FUSAL programs.
I was honored to see how God’s work is being done in El Salvador. This outreach program is possible because of the support Union Rescue Mission receives from our donors and the cooperation of Christians working with us at Giving Children Hope and FUSAL.
(HOSPITAL DE MATERNIDAD LADIVINA PROVIDENCIA – a remote maternity hospital)
(Dinner is being prepared on a wood burning stove in a home occupied by 2 families in a remote area outside of San Salvador)