In El Salvador, Adventist Church’s Partnership with Swiss Foundation Benefit Dozens of Families

July 18, 2018 | San Salvador, El Salvador | Fabricio Rivera/IAD Staff

Thanks to an ongoing partnership between the Seventh-day Adventist Church in El Salvador and the Swiss-owned Advent Stiftung Foundation, dozens of men and women are now able to support their families and improve their lives.  Church leaders and officials recognized the 290 individuals from across communities in San Salvador who completed a small business training course and were given tools and equipment to sustain their families.

Nearly 300 persons show off their certificate for completing a small business training course as a result of the “Viva Mejor” or “Live Better” annual initiative led by the Seventh-day Adventist Church in El Salvador and the Advent Stiftung Swiss Foundation, on June 3, 2018, in San Salvador, El Salvador. Men and women who are in need of work also received free tools and equipment to start small business and support their families. Photo by Fabricio Rivera

Under it’s “Viva Mejor” or “Live Better” annual initiative, men and women who are in need of work and have no training are provided the opportunity to receive vocational education free of charge, organizers said.

“Your lives will be changed and that will help our society in El Salvador have more productive persons,” said Pastor Abel Pacheco, president of the church in El Salvador, as he congratulated the beneficiaries.

Pacheco thanked the Advent-Stiftung Foundation for their commitment in benefiting families in El Salvador for over 26 years. “We are thankful for the partnership with Advent Stiftung that has grown over the years in each of our five church conferences across the country.”

For Guiseppe Carbone, Adventist-Stiftung director for Latin America, making the trip every year to donate equipment to trained individuals is very satisfying. “It’s been a beautiful partnership that involves committed staff to follow-up on these individuals who have benefited from this ‘Viva Mejor’ project,” said Carbone. “The church administration in El Salvador has really taken this project seriously.”

Guiseppe Carbone, Adventist-Stiftung director for Latin America stands by a group trained to operate the donated ovens. Photo by Fabricio Rivera

The church has enlisted the support of El Salvador’s Professional Formation Institute (Instituto Salvadoreño de Formación or INSAFORP) who provide training together with the church.

Maria Teresa Juárez was among the nearly 300 people who benefited at a Delgado City school center in San Salvador.  Juárez had been incarcerated for 12 years and had lost all hope of supporting herself and her family once she was released for good conduct.  She was among a group of eight who were selected from the prison ministries to be part of the “Viva Mejor” project.

Juárez was all smiles as she received her certificate in cosmetology and her hair cutting kit to begin working in the beauty industry.

During the past three years, nearly 1,000 families have benefited from the initiative, an average of 329 families per year. The cost of the training and equipment is $250-$400 per person.

María Teresa Juárez smiles after she receives her certificate training in cosmetology and her hair cutting kit. Photo by Fabricio Rivera

The “Viva Mejor” project provided griddles for tortilla making, welding kits, carpentry tools, sewing machines, cosmetology kits, baking ovens, electrical kits, ice cream carts and more, during the ceremony held earlier last month.

In addition, each individual who received a certificate received a new Bible.

The Advent Stiftung Foundation has benefited thousands of people for over 26 years in Central America, South America, The Caribbean and India.