February, 2008 Delegation

Delegation From The U.S. Visits El Salvador—A First For Sew

If a picture is worth a thousand words, an experience surpasses description. Here are some highlights from a seven day visit in February, 2008.

SEW women: Ruth, on left; Mercedes in middle; Delmy, son and Marista on right. Delegation members left to right: Sister Patricia Pelletier, DW, Maggie Quinlan, Sister Patti Ann Rogucki, SFCC, Andrea Barron and Barbara Gallagher are pleased with their efforts.	Mercedes stirs the indigo in preparation.

Delegation members tried their hand at making an indigo dye pattern while visiting this business in San Luis Los Ranchos. Each pattern is made from various ways of folding and stitching, dying in indigo and drying. Our teachers were very patient with us!

Hospitality marked every visit always warm, gracious welcoming and generous, delicious meals and refreshment.

Guadalupe pares the vegetables for a hearty bean soup served with corn. Tablecloths, flowers and bottled water were the standard showing us how much our hostesses planned for us gringos. We had watermelon after a hot, afternoon meeting and cantaloupe juice another day to accompany our meal.

Delegation member Leah Rock samples dried fruit with Andrea and Mary Allman. Aracely shows the trays in the solar oven.	Barbara Gallagher was drawn to moms and children and made friends everywhere she went.

Mid week the delegation took a day to visit monuments and to reflect on some aspects of the Salvadoran war years. Here in Parque Cuscatl n the Wall to Memory and Truth records the names of civilians killed and disappeared during th e years of war. Ceramic panels precede the panels of names, depicting the tumult of that time.

A museum in the park added refreshment as well as reflection with many pieces of contemporary paintings and sculptors.