Association for Community Development, Environmental Protection & Multiple Services (ADCASMUS)

ADCASMUS works with communities that generally receive little or no other institutional or government support. About half of its programs are located in rural areas, which were affected by massacres during the civil war; this population depends on subsistence farming (corn and beans) on rented land, supplemented by raising small animals (chickens or pigs) or fishing. ADCASMUS runs a community centre/library in a semi-rural area, where it also runs educational and training programs. Most participants come from families who live in extreme poverty or are working but below the poverty line.

EL SALVADOR

El Salvador has an estimated population of 6.1 million people living in the country, and more than 1.2 million outside. These expatriates were displaced by a 12-year civil war. 20% of the population lives in extreme poverty and accounts for only 3% of its wealth. El Salvador has the 5th lowest per capita income in the continent when adjusted for cost of living, and its GDP per capita ranks 135th in the world. Remittances are the largest source of income for the country (17%); making El Salvador highly dependent on illegal out-migration, and especially vulnerable to economic downturns. The World Bank estimates the proportion of people living in extreme poverty would double to 40% without these remittances. Most of the population in El Salvador’s population is young.

Agriculture makes up just over 10% of GDP but is still the main source of employment in the country – particularly for the 42% living in rural areas. Crime and homicide levels driven by youth gangs and drug trafficking are among the highest in the world. Despite these figures, El Salvador is considered a model for the social and political integration of a guerrilla movement following the end of a civil war.