ABELINES COMMUNITY PROFILE
Los Abelines is a rural community located in the department of Morazan in northeastern El Salvador. The village itself is one of eleven cantones that are situated in the mountains above of the town of Guatajiagua, which means “valley of tobacco cultivation”, and is famous for its black pottery. Its high elevation keeps Abelines cooler than many other towns in the east, but it still gets quite warm during the day. The closest large town is Ciudad Barrios.
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The entire region was a center of fighting during the civil war from 1980 – 1992. Abelines itself was a crossroads of guerrilla activity. For example, the home of Tingo and Reina Membreño, members of the community, was taken over as the guerrilla hospital for the region. Many in the area, especially mothers who lost sons to the violence, were left traumatized by this period and still suffer sleepless nights and depression from the experiences they endured. ENLACE community advisor, Doris de Leon describes the situation by saying, "there is not a family in this area that didn't suffer the loss of family members by the hand of the guerrillas or the government forces."
pastor victorio paz points the way back to abelines after a trip to study area springs for their water project
In 1998, ENLACE met with leaders of the Liceo Cristiano school in Guatajiagua to assess needs in the area. Instead of looking to the needs of their impoverished town, the leaders prioritized Abelines as a community in need of assistance, especially in the area of medical care. A team from ENLACE spends every other Thursday and Friday in Abelines, during which they meet with the local health and ADESCO (community development) committees as well as other local organizations involved in water, health and agricultural projects. Doctor Mireia Salazar, who lives in San Salvador, serves as the community doctor and gives consultation at the clinic about twelve days a month. Due to her rapport with the community, she has come to have a keen awareness of their health needs, and works together with the ENLACE team to develop preventative health strategies.
The “Faith and Hope” clinic in Abelines was built in October of 2001 by a work team from Victory Christian Center in Indiana. It has one small room with two exam tables, a desk, and three small shelving units full of donated medicines provided by visiting medical teams. Some common ailments that children are treated for at the Abelines clinic include cough, cold, vomiting, diarrhea, fever, parasites and scabies.
Adults seek treatment for some of the same problems, as well as bronchitis, dermatitis, chronic heartburn, arthritis pain, vision problems, gastritis, and fungal infections of the feet. When problems of a serious nature occur, Dr. Mireia is able to refer those patients to the hospital in Ciudad Barrios, where they pay a similar fee of around $1.14 for treatment.
The Abelines Health committee is very active and now gives health seminars in surrounding communities. When they began planning the seminars, literacy was an immediate issue as so many in the area cannot read or write. With resources from books and the internet, the ENLACE team worked together with the committee to put together presentations that rely on drawings and interactive discussions. These seminars and workshops are used to convey the importance of hand washing and boiled drinking water, among other topics, in preventing the many bacterial and parasitic infections that are prevalent in the area.
Nutrition was another issue that came up quickly, as children and adults are lacking in many necessary nutrients. Babies are generally breast-fed until they are two years old, and started on solid foods at around six months of age. However, those foods are limited to beans, tortillas, rice, and eggs, the amount of which depends on what the family can afford.
Dr. Mireia gives regular talks on the importance of early nutrition for healthy growth, and ENLACE is just beginning a community gardens project to help address the need for improved nutrition through a more varied diet. Cooking classes will be a component of the program, with the aim of helping people take advantage of local, nutrient-dense foods. The health committee also stresses the importance of cleanliness in food storage techniques, as well as keeping animals away from the kitchen area of the home.
Neither running water nor electricity has made it yet to homes in Abelines, but there are a few public water spigots located around the area from which people collect water for daily use. Being at the top of a mountain, the water is cleaner than downriver, but parasitic infection is still very common, mainly affecting children. For that reason, ENLACE is working with the community on two water projects in the area.
The nearest hospital, in Ciudad Barrios, is about a one-hour drive - or three-hour walk – from Abelines. Women generally give birth at home with the help of a midwife, or make the trek to the hospital in special circumstances. When Vilma, a member of the health committee, gave birth to her son Freddy she walked the three hours to the hospital. She was discharged the following morning, about 12 hours later, and walked back home with her newborn in her arms.
In 2007, the clinic will expand to include a new community center to hold meetings, extra space for visiting medical teams, and a room to house the ENLACE team as well as visiting missions and medical teams.