San Jacinto, Santa Ana

Zurisadai Church Partnership with ENLACE
In 2008, ENLACE began partnering with two churches in the region of San Ana. Pastor Rafael Gonzalez from the New Jerusalem Church in Comecayo invited ENLACE to conduct a one-day Integral Mission of the Church Seminar for his leaders. Pastor Rafael also invited Pastor Mauricio from the Zurisadai Church in San Jacinto to the workshop.

Pastor Mauricio and one of his church leaders were so excited after the one day seminar, that they immediately invited ENLACE to conduct a series of workshops with the leadership of their church. The workshops confirmed the call that God had placed on Mauricio’s heart to serve his community. Within weeks of the first workshops, Pastor Mauricio and his church leadership had already met with the mayor and had organized members of the community to repair parts of the main road.

The pastor and leaders of the Zurisadai Church then approached the community association of San Jacinto to identify new initiatives. The church leaders soon realized that the association was not representative of the community nor did it have the capacity to manage any initiatives. With the help of ENLACE, the church assisted the community to reorganize and strengthen the community association. Pastor Mauricio with ENLACE Church Coach and Samuel, the president of the community association in San Jacinto.

In June of this year, the church and community association worked with the health committee to rebuild a retaining wall at the public health unit. The community leaders said that it was the first project that they can remember where different sectors of the community worked together to resolve a common problem. The pastor and church leaders have also connected to the public school and mayor’s office. They are extremely excited to see how God will continue to lead and prepare them to transform their community.

 

Zurisadai Church Profile

Name: Zurisadai, San Jacinto

Pastor: Jaime Mauricio Recinos

Year church founded: 1954

Years of pastoring church: 3

Weekly attendance: 225

Years partnering with ENLACE: 2

Number of community initiatives implemented: 2

Number of people impacted: 2,450

Community partners: community association, local water board, mayor’s office, and public school

Current initiatives: clinic wall and storm drain

 

COMMUNITY PROFILE
San Jacinto, Santa Ana

San Jacinto is a rural community located 14 kilometers from the city of Santa Ana. San Jacinto is divided into four hamlets with a total population of 3,773 people or 1,004 households. The majority of the population is subsistence farmers or small-scale merchants. Most farmers cultivate corn, beans, coffee, and sorghum for household consumption. A small number of families cultivate fruit and vegetables and raise cattle. Very few families cultivate crops or raise cattle to sell at market.

The community has access to three public schools and one public health unit. The majority of the population (80%) has access to treated water two days per week, which is insufficient for a family of four or more. The remaining population obtains its water directly from contaminated rivers. Most households have access to latrines and electricity.

Each hamlet or neighborhood is organized at different levels. All the hamlets have local community development associations (ADESCOs), but they vary in effectiveness. The community association of San Jacinto was inactive until the local church helped restructure the organization. Other hamlets have more organized community associations, which have implemented smaller initiatives. San Jacinto also has a water board and health committee, which were organized by the director of the local public health unit.

 

Identified Initiatives 2010

Build annex in clinic for dental services……$15,000

Total Health Initiatives 2010……………….$15,000

Possible Initiatives 2011-2013

  • Expand water system and build capacity of water board.
  • Dengue prevention campaigns.
  • HIV/AIDS prevention campaigns.
  • Improved stove construction in surrounding communities.
  • Increase health education in surrounding communities.
  • Household waste disposal initiatives.
  • Strengthen health committee.

Opportunities in San Jacinto

Infrastructure:

  • The community continuously runs the risk of its primary road being cut off from the main highway due to six months of heavy rain and poor road construction. Urgent repairs such as the building of storm drains, retaining walls and vaults are needed.
  • The community also has identified other infrastructural needs such as a proper roof and perimeter wall for the public school and an added room for the health clinic to provide dental services.

Health:

  • The community’s existing water system needs to be expanded to provide more clean water to each household and include the remaining 20% of the population that does not have access. The community will need to strengthen its existing water board to manage the system more effectively.
  • The community has worked extremely hard to reduce infant mortality rates in the last five years and is a great source of pride. Nonetheless, Acute Respiratory Infections (ARI) continue to impact their population. One solution is to introduce new wood-burning stove technologies (which have proved successful in many regions in which we’ve worked) that reduce the amount of smoke being inhaled by children and women.
  • The community and health clinic have identified the need to design and implement an effective household waste management system that would impact the morbidity rates due to diarrhea and other water-borne illnesses.

Economic Development:

  • A final major challenge for the community of San Jacinto is to diversify and expand agricultural production and animal husbandry. San Jacinto has good quality soil and sufficient water to diversify agricultural production and marketing of crops such as fruits and vegetables. The community leaders will need to obtain technical and financial assistance to produce and sell their crops and products.


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