Los Olivos CIS

"What I have learned from the CIS is to see myself involved in the theme of solidarity. Seeing the solidarity that [the CIS] shows with all of our communities, I have learned that sometimes it is not necessary that we are asked for help in order to offer it. I have also learned that the foundation of development is organization. If the community doesn't organize and struggle to improve its conditions, they will not see development." --CIS Community Leader Los Olivos CIS is a Minnesota 501(c)3 non-profit organization that supports the Centro de Intercambio y Solidaridad (CIS) in San Salvador, El Salvador. OUR MISSION: To promote solidarity and cultural exchange across borders between the Salvadoran people and other people of the world to promote and strengthen a cultural of solidarity that implies accompaniment, respect for diversity, equitable relationships and mutual support between people with the goal of raising consciousness, organizing, and mobilizing people toward justice and dignity. OUR STORY: The CIS was founded in 1993 after the signing of the Peace Accords in El Salvador. Solidarity groups from the U.S., Canada, and Europe came together with Salvadoran popular organizations to develop a center to promote people-to-people relations after the war. The root causes of the war - economic and social injustice together with a lack of democratic openings to make change - were still present. It was agreed that continued international accompaniment and solidarity with grassroots movements for social and economic justice and participatory democracy would be needed to achieve structural changes in the post war period. BUILDING TOOLS FOR SOCIAL CHANGE, PROMOTING SOLIDARITY: In its 27 years of existence, the CIS has grown to carry out its mission in a holistic manner, by incorporating programs that promote cross-cultural exchange and solidarity, strengthen social movements, and contribute to human development and social transformation in El Salvador. Here are some examples of the impact of CIS programs: • Through our Education and Youth Leadership program, scholarship students from the cantón of San Antonio, Comasagua who have graduated from high school and are preparing for university show their commitment to community by teaching computer classes at the local primary school. • Through our Advocacy and Organizing program, members of the Monseñor Romero Community in Tonacatepeque who have struggled for the rights to their land for 11 years  finally achieved title to the land in 2015 and CIS was able to build 65 dignified homes, septic systems, potable water and a community center and library. • Through our Solidarity Crafts program, Salvadoran fair trade artisans are reaching out to new markets beyond El Salvador’s borders with both their handmade products and their vision for an alternative economic model. • Through our Delegations program, international sister communities are empowering youth and women and building lifelong relationships • Through our program Salvadoran Enterprises for Women, women’s entrepreneurial groups are becoming producers and leaders in their community after gaining the skills and self-confidence needed to run their own business. • Through our Spanish school, new Spanish speakers are engaging in the social and political reality of El Salvador through the concepts of popular education in the classroom and meetings with local social movement leaders and organizations through the social cultural program. • Through our self-sustaining English school, community leaders are learning English in a social context to better communicate with international solidarity partners. These are just a few examples of the personal and collective outcomes of the CIS´ programs. Your donation will facilitate solidarity, development and social transformation in El Salvador through these programs. Please visit our webpage at www.cis-elsalvador.org for more detailed information on our programs. ¨And just in the moment when we felt overwhelmed, the CIS appeared - the dew that spreads across the countryside and valleys...the dew that joins together and transforms into a stream, feeding and changing into a river of hope...and it’s true that the CIS is the dew of the Monseñor Romero Community in Tonacatepeque and of many other communities in our little El Salvador.¨ --Raul Acevedo Paz, Monseñor Romero Community