A tale of contrasts and community
Cordoncillo Island is a picturesque tropical paradise with stunning blue waters and palm trees heavily laden with ripe coconuts. It’s situated near the mouth of an inland waterway on El Salvador’s Pacific coast. The hour or so drive from the capital San Salvador passes through many small villages rife with poverty flanked by expensive looking beachfront homes and resorts. The contrast between wealth and poverty appears again during the short boat ride to the island itself. Just off shore, dozens of beautiful sail boats occupied by vacationing foreigners rock gently in the calm water. Just on shore, a village of perhaps 90 families struggles to survive with few basic resources.
It’s this village that we’re here to visit. Cross International staff are joining The dedicated team from our local partner, the Friendly Hand Foundation, to bring bags of food relief to the families of Cordoncillo Island. We’ve loaded a boat with 100 packages of food, including vitamin fortified rice, for a distribution on the island.
It’s this village that we’re here to visit. Cross International staff are joining The dedicated team from our local partner, the Friendly Hand Foundation, to bring bags of food relief to the families of Cordoncillo Island. We’ve loaded a boat with 100 packages of food, including vitamin fortified rice, for a distribution on the island.
Upon arrival, a kind of bucket brigade forms to unload the bags of food from the boat. On shore, a crowd starts to gather. Since this is the second food distribution of the month facilitated by the Friendly Hands Foundation, the people of Cordoncillo Island are excited for the continued help feeding their families. Over the next hour or so each family receives at least one bag of food to take back to their homes.
Meet some of the children of Cordoncillo that you blessed!
Maria Fernanda, a 13-year-old girl wearing her school uniform, expresses her gratitude saying, “this food is going to help our family. We’re so grateful for the help you give us!”
Thank you for partnering with Cross International to bring relief and help to the people of Cordoncillo Island, and to so many others around the world!
