Project Launch:

El Palmital is at the base of the Usulután volcano in the eastern part of El Salvador. Year round employment is rare as most residents live in poverty, often surviving only on remittances sent from relatives in the United States. To battle hopelessness, especially among the young, a $499 grant from World Connect’s Kids to Kids Program in 2011 focused on 40 students from the sixth through the ninth grade who were recommended by their teachers to participate in a leadership camp. The goal of the project was to teach leadership, self-esteem and goal-setting. A field trip was made to a nearby lake to launch the program, which was followed by workshops, sports, classes and mural painting.