The Fundación Salvadoreña para la Salud y el Desarrollo Humano (FUSAL), in collaboration with the Canadian Embassy, held the National Meeting of FUSAL Volunteers, where the collective impact of community volunteers working for early childhood in El Salvador from their communities was recognized. This meeting took place within the framework of the project “Digital empowerment for women in rural areas, through the strengthening of technological skills to enhance their leadership as leaders in early childhood within their communities”,of the Canada Fund for Local Initiatives.
During the meeting, FUSAL and the Canadian Embassy highlighted the dedication of the volunteers, who implement the sustainability of FUSAL’s Early Childhood program through the Nutripuntos strategy, community spaces where early stimulation and nutrition activities are developed with the participation of families with children in early childhood living in rural areas in conditions of multidimensional poverty.
More than 300 volunteers participated in the meeting with representatives of the Canadian Embassy and the FUSAL team. In this activity they had the opportunity to share in spaces designed to strengthen leadership skills, creativity and teamwork, which are key aspects to enhance community leadership skills, as well as to promote the sense of belonging and commitment of volunteers.
During the meeting, the Canadian Ambassador to El Salvador, Mylène Paradis, highlighted the importance of partnerships between the Canadian government, FUSAL and volunteers. “The work of community volunteers is fundamental to the well-being of the most vulnerable families. Canada is proud to support this type of initiative, which empowers rural women and makes them agents of change in their communities. The ‘Circle’ app is a clear example of how technology can be a powerful tool to strengthen local leadership and multiply the impact of health and education programs”, she said.
“Through this meeting, we seek to recognize the valuable work of our volunteers and further strengthen their knowledge and skills. Experience has shown us that this leadership is fundamental to promote the proper development of children in the communities”, said Alejandro Poma, vice president of FUSAL.
Volunteering as a component of the Early Childhood Program of FUSAL
For more than 18 years, FUSAL has implemented strategies aimed at the integral development of early childhood, having as a fundamental pillar the long-term sustainability of its interventions in the benefited areas. This is achieved through the training of community volunteers, who become agents of transformation and multipliers of knowledge in their communities. FUSAL’s Early Childhood Program works to contribute to the adequate development of children from zero to four years of age in households living in multidimensional poverty in rural areas of El Salvador, with an emphasis on nutrition and early stimulation.
Currently, FUSAL has more than 460 active volunteers in 17 districts of Sonsonate, Ahuachapán, Usulután, La Libertad, and Morazán. This group dynamizes 165 Nutripuntos, serving 5,963 children under five years of age and 269 pregnant women.
“We are very pleased that the sustainability pillar of our Early Childhood Program has a multiplier effect and a special impact on rural women, who have the opportunity to develop as agents of transformation for their families and communities”, said Ricardo Poma, president of FUSAL.
Throughout the year, these volunteers -most of whom are women who were participants in FUSAL programs- have been trained in topics such as early stimulation, nutritional surveillance, food and nutrition education, and food hygiene. FUSAL keeps its volunteer base connected and links them to various growth opportunities: to date, 190 FUSAL volunteers have been certified as breastfeeding counselors by the Ministerio de Salud (MINSAL), while 175 volunteers from 10 municipalities received training in early stimulation, holding active meetings in all districts.
The initiative of this meeting provided all volunteers with empowerment in their role and greater preparation to continue impacting children in their homes and communities.
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