Our Partnership with the Community of Tasajera, El Salvador
Thanksgiving for Generosity and A Call to Prayer at a Critical Time

We give thanks for the generosity of those who contributed to the Special World Communion Offering on October 2—$1,600 was given to support the Turtle Project on the Island of Tasajera—a project that provides economic development and environmental sustainability to our partner community. A total of $5,000 was sent to support the Turtle Project because a group from our congregation has been very faithful in fundraising through coffee, t-shirt and craft sales.

A week after World Communion Sunday, floods devastated this tiny island community. Because of the flooding, many of our brothers and sisters there have been displaced from their homes and are temporarily living in the health clinic we helped to build, as well as the community school and church. Food supplies and livelihood have been negatively affected. Please pray for the community of Tasajera. The planned November trip to Tasajera has been postponed at this time.

World Communion Special Offering October 2:
We Covenant with our Partners in Tasajera, El Salvador

As is our tradition, we give a gift to our global brothers and sisters on World Communion Sunday, October 2. For the past five years, we have nurtured and grown our relationship with our partners on the island of Tasajera, El Salvador through person-to-person visits and learning, and through our support for the development of the community's health service, economic development, and environmental stewardship. Our World Communion Special Offering will be dedicated to further the work of the Turtle Project.

Residents of the island have invested their resources, with the help of our community and USAID, in the development of a sea turtle egg nursery. Rather than losing the precious and endangered turtle eggs to poachers who sell or eat the eggs, members from the community are paid to collect the eggs and bring them to the turtle egg nursery so they will be protected, hatched, and released into the Pacific. The Salvadoran government recognizes this well-run program as a model of economic development and protection of the delicate natural environment of the island. Our gift to the community will help further this project even as the community seeks more long-term funding solutions. Your generous gift on October 2 is a gift to the world as we honor Jesus' call that "we all might be one."

Click on photo to view slide show of 2008 Mission trip to El Salvador.

A Brief History of the Partnership

Summer 2007: Dr. Lauren Herbert, FCC member, approached Pastor Melanie with the dream of developing an on-going relationship with the people of Tasajera, who she had met while providing medical care with Salvadoran physician Dr. Daniel Perez.

October 2007: FCC dedicated our special World Communion Sunday offering to the dream of building a small health clinic on the island: over $12,000 was raised at that time, the largest World Communion offering ever.

January 2008: Lauren, Pastor Melanie, Kiran Oommen and Jillian Scott traveled to El Salvador to make contacts for the partnership.

June/July 2008: under the leadership of Jillian Scott and Doug Neill, 25 FCC members and friends (ranging in age from 3 to 60+), helped the Tasajera community begin building the medical clinic.

November 2008: Tasajera Medical Clinic dedicated.

July 2009: A delegation from FCC traveled to Tasajera to support the community in their English language education program, as well as providing health services and to support the community in launching the Turtle Project.

November 2009: Scott and Erika Johnson traveled to Tasajera to support the healthcare and environmental projects. Joining the Johnsons was Lori Maddox, associate director of ELAW (Environmental Law Alliance Worldwide). Lori facilitated a workshop with the community to clarify their rights and opportunities for protecting their community and natural environment. Currently, the community of Tasajera is working hard on a flagship project to protect the endangered sea turtles native to the area, which also provides needed income to the people. Today’s offering supports this innovative project through FUNZEL, a Salvadoran NGO.

March 2010: Randy Jeremiah and Lauren Herbert visit Tasajera bringing computers and connecting to the internet for use in the clinic and the community school.

October 2010: An intergenerational group of 11 FCC members travel to Tasajera to work in the medical clinic and support English language learning in the community’s school.

June 2011: Lauren Herbert and Maia Watkins and a friend spend two weeks working on establishing an American Academy of Pediatrics grant to further promote health care on the island.

Young Adult Internship 

Another very exciting development is that Erika Johnson and Maia Watkins, both 11th graders at South Eugene High School, have begun a FCC “social justice internship” to support the work of this partnership.  Working with the Partnership Working Group and Pastor Melanie, the girls have begun the important work of further organization and development of this exciting relationship with our Salvadoran friends. What a blessing to our congregation and to our partners in El Salvador!