Holy Week Rituals
Palm Sunday & Holy Thursday: The Last Supper Learning * Service * Humility * Compassion El Salvador is most famous for its Good Friday re-enactments of Jesus’ crucifixion, “the Living Stations of the Cross”. However, all of Holy Week is also celebrated. Holy Week begins with Palm Sunday, when crowds threw palms down on the […]
February Charm
Charming pictures to brighten your February In case your browser doesn’t show our captions: Susan, our Programs Director, the tallest by far, with our two littlest at our February visit. After school, waiting for pickup, the girl in the green backpack asked Teacher Marta, “Do you know Dinora who lives at COAR? She is tremendous.” […]
Let’s Talk About…
Dignity, Privacy, Safety, Human Trafficking…Courage and Resilience. Safety – that’s why we are obscuring the faces of minors on our website. Thanks for understanding. Margarita, like most of our teen girls these past several years, came to us in from an abusive situation. She also has a severe spinal problem that is being diagnosed and […]
What We Did on Our Summer Vacation
As many of you know, and may have even experienced this summer, a portion of COAR’s funding is raised through the Mission Cooperative Plan or “mission appeal” at various churches around North America. Our speakers often enjoy meeting new supporters, connecting with people about El Salvador or our mission, and even occasionally running into donors […]
More about Fr. Juan Carlos
This blog article is a follow-up to our August e-mail feature article about meeting Fr. Juan Carlos Tejada, a COAR school graduate and now pastor of one of the parishes we visited this summer! Father Juan Carlos grew up in San José Villanueva, the next town over from Zaragoza, where COAR is located. He is the oldest […]
Giving Thanks for the Abundance of Summer
El Salvador is blessed with sunshine and fertile soil Every May 3rd Salvadorans celebrate the Day of the Cross with beautiful displays, sculptures really. A cross is adorned with fruits and flowers. It is one of many feasts and customs from around the world that have arisen from the absorption and melding of an indigenous […]
New! Transition to Independence Program
What Makes it “Official”? It’s in our budget * It’s in our guidelines * It’s in our culture “There is nothing permanent except change” -Heraclitus And that is certainly true at COAR! Our staff and collaborators over the years have always sought the best way to serve the changing needs of the COAR population—from war […]
“All I Want for Christmas is Yooouu”
At a Christmas party thrown in November the new COAR residents are already doing what youth always does ~ making new friends, bringing new energy and talents, and healing. Merry Christmas! Jennifer, at COAR from the age of 1 year old, welcomes everyone to the party. Danna helps Dinora read a Christmas poem. Valeria shows […]
December 2022 – Executive Director’s Reflections & News from El Salvador
“Treated No Better than a Rag” In our regular meetings at COAR we learn the heart-breaking details about how the newest children and teens have come to be at COAR. They are minors so we shield their privacy as well as, literally, keep them safe from their past. At our most recent, mid-November meeting, our […]
Community Film School Finale
The Moment We’ve All Been Waiting For… For nearly three years, we’ve been talking about the Community Film School. We’ve seen pictures of works in progress, meet-ups, and classes. We’ve heard about how COAR’s kids are growing in skills, confidence, and experience. But we haven’t (yet) seen any final projects. Now, after hours and hours […]