LOS ANGELES — Salvadoran immigrants in the U.S. are raising funds through a variety of activities to build a school in a town in their home country, so that students "fall in love" with the facilities and stay away from the danger of falling into the "maras" (criminal gangs).
El Piche, in the eastern province of La Unión, is the community that will benefit from this initiative — one that began precisely with a group of Salvadorans from that town, who organized a gospel music concert to grow the fund that will pay for the school.
"Where these young people are receiving classes today is a risk," Enot Rubio, president of the Salvadoran Committee El Piche in Los Angeles (California), told EFE.
"That's why it's important to give young people the opportunity of a modern building, a building where they will have the opportunities they don't have in the current facilities," said Rubio, who emigrated to the U.S. 38 years ago and received his primary education in the now-deteriorated school.
The new El Piche Educational Complex will benefit some 400 students from 13 rural communities around the municipality of El Carmen. The estimated construction cost is $1.8 million.
Rubio said several entities, including El Salvador's Ministry of Education, had pledged funds totaling $811,000.
"We are putting the necessary tools in each of these young people so that there is no excuse to drop out of school," Rubio said. "What we want is for these young people to fall in love with seeking a better future through education."
In El Salvador, the "maras" pressure young people on the streets to join their ranks and commit crimes. Figures from El Salvador's National Civilian Police (PNC) from January 1 to April 30, 2016 indicate these groups were responsible for 2,355 murders, placing the small Central American country among the most violent in the world.
Rubio said that "more than 20 schools have been built" in El Salvador through community activities in the United States. "Sometimes it's expanding schools, or providing them with a computer center," he added. For two decades, the committee's leader has managed donations and organized activities to meet needs across Salvadoran towns.
Originally published by the EFE news agency, July 2016.