OUTREACH PROGRAMS
Living the call of the Gospel requires reaching out to those in need.
​
See how we do that here at San Pedro with these life-changing programs.
Parish School
While the public schools meet for as few as nine hours weekly, our students have access to high quality education all week long. We provide school supplies, uniforms, computers, and most of all dedicated teachers and a safe learning environment where discipline is maintained and the faith is kept as a central part of the curriculum.
​
Currently first through sixth grade, our school is undergoing rapid growth after only two years of operation as parents realize the opportunity available for their children. At just three dollars a month, this truly is a life-changing experience for our students.
​
Your support allows for the amazingly low cost of attendance and goes toward school supplies, teacher salaries, field trips, building maintenance, and scholarships.
Medical Clinic
The parish clinic provides much needed medical care for the community at Teotepeque. Unlike state-run clinics in El Salvador, which often have waiting times of days and poor access to medications, our qualified doctor sees patients as soon as they come in with access to our well stocked medical supply.
​
In addition to basic medical services, our Clinic also serves as a hub for various programs, including a pre- and post-natal nutrition program for new and expectant mothers and their children.
​
Your support goes toward medical equipment, supplies, and subsidizes the cost of medicine and treatment for patients.
Operation Rescue Housing Project
Our housing project, known as Operation Rescue Inc., builds homes for the poorest of the poor in each community, most of whom previously had mud and stick houses, often infested with insect and rodents and increasingly insecure due to rising gang violence and crime.
​
Additionally, Operation Rescue provides steady employment to two teams of workers when good jobs are hard to come by.
Founded by David and Marsha Gantz after seeing the living conditions in El Salvador during a mission trip, Operation Rescue has gone on to build over one hundred houses in the communities Teotepeque parish. Read their story here.
Clean Water Initiative
Our Clean Water Initiative provides access to safe, reliable, and affordable drinking water for San Pedro parish and school as well as several local area schools through the construction of small-scale water treatment facilities.
Access to clean drinking water is a hardship in El Salvador, as purified water is too expensive for most, and the municipal water systems, if existent, are only online one or two days a week, and provide only a trickle of water, often contaminated with parasites, viruses, and harmful deposits.
​
The Water Treatment Program is funded and operated entirely by generous parishioners from St. Albert the Great. Learn more here.
Scholarship Program
The Scholarship Program, known locally as Becas, provides full and half scholarships for promising students who could otherwise never afford the cost of higher education, which ranges from fifty to one hundred dollars or more per month.
The Beca program frees students from the almost impossible burden of working to pay for school. This is essential since the nearest universities are three hours away by bus, leaving little to no time for a job.
​
Beca graduates are able to secure better jobs and a higher income giving them a better chance in the fight against poverty.
.jpg)
Missionary Visits
In addition to our standard programs, there are regular mission trips led by various parishes in the Cleveland area which provide one-time aid such as medical brigades, clothing donations, and labor groups.
​
These mission trips serve not only to bring help to those on the margins in El Salvador, but also act as a source of growth and solidarity for those who visit. In fact, many visitors go on to form permanent aid programs including our own Operation Rescue and the St. Albert the Great Water Initiative.
​
Learn more about making a mission trip here.