Welcome back to another day in La Chacra, El Salvador! The neighborhood is known locally for suffering from gang violence, but despite this, we’ve found it to be vibrant and full of people who want to be known for more than just that. This was something we really love about working with the group in La Chacra; people show up every day to spend time together, mess around, and have become another family of sorts for each other. We wanted to help capture this, so we did a photo project similar to the one recently completed in Apopa here. Initially, the group was a little bit shyer than the youth in Apopa but quickly they warmed up and everyone wanted a turn both in front of and behind the camera. One of our favorite moments when they were fooling around with the camera and taking pictures was when they took a picture of Sister Betty. The small group congregated behind the camera to make sure that the one capturing this woman, who had become a mother figure or, at the very … [Read more...] about Photo Op!

¡Saludos desde El Salvador! We’ve got another day in La Chacra, and we’re busy finishing up their new youth innovation lab with Sister Betty and the neighborhood kids. In order for them to complete all of the projects they wanted to, they’d need the necessary equipment to do so. And as we talked about constructing planters for fresh flowers or shelves for the space, we knew that this meant getting some heavy-duty tools like a Dremel and electric drill, as well as other basic tools like hammers, nails, a leveler and clamps. We picked up all of these and then some, plus a big orange toolbox to keep all the small bits and bobs in order. Right away, we used these tools to hang up a mirror in each bathroom, and then construct a wooden box to be hung for storage along the wall. It was surprising to see how exciting a power tool could be to a 10-year-old, and all of them were eager to lend a hand and work on these projects. If you’d like to support doing the doable and … [Read more...] about The Right Tools For the Job

It’s our second day in La Chacra, a—quite literally—colorful community on the outskirts of San Salvador. We’re busy working with Sister Betty and the youth who have started to assemble around her to make a space that will be warm and welcoming to those who want to use it. Yesterday, we met a need expressed by Sister Betty. Today, we want to meet a need expressed by the youth. To do so, Leo and Roberto, the human-centered designers of LERO studio, led a handful of ideations with the youth to see what they might want for the space. One of the things that came up was reusable tableware—plates, forks, spoons, knives and glasses. As across the rest of the world, concerns about the environment are becoming increasingly common amongst young people, and the same is true for El Salvador. The idea was easy enough, and something we also heartedly supported, so we got some durable, reusable tableware that they’d be able to use for years to come. If you’d like to support doing the … [Read more...] about Reuse. Recycle. Repeat. Eat.

Hello, Hello! Although we’ve left Apopa for the time being, our Changemakers team is busy in another community in El Salvador—La Chacra. The community center in Apopa that helps house our new youth innovation lab is established and well-known by locals in the neighborhood. The La Chacra center, on the other hand, is an old ophthalmology clinic, recently re-purposed by the human-centered designers at LERO to be a youth lab for the community. Despite being much younger, the La Chacra youth lab is visited by an eager group of students who pop over consistently after school to be together and spend time with Sister Betty. When we were figuring out what exactly the space needed, Sister Betty quickly brought up cleaning supplies. Having been re-purposed for the lab, the space didn’t have any of the basic supplies needed to maintain it. And people wanted to ensure that the space was respected and could keep that initial shine for as long as possible. So, we started by buying … [Read more...] about Cleaning Up La Chacra

¡Buenas tardes! It’s our last day in the community of Apopa, El Salvador. They have already done a lot to create a community space where youth could go to get away from the gang violence that many of these communities struggle with, as well as use the space to be creative and innovative and find their place in the world. As our last day, we wanted to do something special with them. We had done some ideations related to what they wanted and needed for the space, but we also asked them what they might want to do together as a group. The students agonized over different things we could spend an afternoon doing, and finally settled on having a Mexican taco party with soda. So, we picked up all the ingredients and everyone squeezed in around a table to eat together. When people weren’t busy munching on tacos, they were busy discussing the difference between Mexican pico de gallo and Salvadoran chimol and teasing each other as siblings might. It was sad to leave them after such … [Read more...] about A Taco Celebration!

Hello, hello! It’s our second to last day in Apopa, and today, we’re working on how to make this new youth innovation lab feel a little bit more like home. We’ve got lots of additional supplies, but the space still isn’t as personal as we might like. To give the youth a bit more ownership over their space and help them remember all the work they did to make it happen, we decided to do a little photo project together. The youth using the space would be able to learn how to use the camera and then take pictures of themselves and their peers and hang them up in the space. To no one’s surprise, they were all enthusiastic about the project and took dozens of pictures of the space and people, and then subsequently hug them up on a rack, wrapped with the same string used to hang clothes in the neighborhood. “We intentionally wanted to use a material that the students would recognize from their community,” Leo, one of the human-centered designers told us. “Not only would this help … [Read more...] about Smile for the Camera

Welcome back to another day in the sunny country of El Salvador. Much like the last few days, we’ve been busy working on the youth innovation lab in Apopa, where youth in the neighborhood can come to use supplies, explore their interests, and create community. We’ve already picked up some supplies for the youth to use, and, even though we think sculpting clay and laminators are exciting and useful, the space was also lacking some basic supplies. Today, that means picking up some office supplies for the space—pens, post-it notes, tape, staplers, whiteboard markers—everything that they would need to round out the art materials, tools and other supplies. Before we even finished, the items were already being used. Sharpies and post-it notes were pulled out to take note of some future ideas, while the younger students were busy drawing and erasing, drawing and erasing on the whiteboards with the new equally colorful markers and erasers. If you’d like to support doing the … [Read more...] about A Clay Partay!

¡Buenos días! Greetings from the Changemakers 365 team in El Salvador, where we’re busy working with the community in Apopa to create safe spaces by way of a youth innovation lab. The space already offers a lot of opportunities to the youth of the neighborhood—people play soccer out back, there’s a small choreographed dance class for women, and other men who break dance. But they’re still missing some basic supplies they need to complete the lab. To help remedy some of this, we got them office supplies—post it notes, staplers, pens, pencils, tape, paper clips, you name it! If you’d like to support doing the doable and making change each and every day, make a donation to fund Changemakers 365.   Meet Sam! Sam developed an interest in forced displacement, food insecurity, and identity while working on her master's degree. She’s now using this knowledge to support Changemakers 365 across our country programs. When she’s not off on a work trip, she’s … [Read more...] about Office Supplies for Girls and Guys

It’s our third day in Apopa, and we’re continuing our work at the youth innovation lab here, a space that acts as a sanctuary for creativity and innovation, as well as a safe space away from the gang violence that troubles the neighborhood’s residents. But to be a truly creative and innovative place, the lab needed some more tools that the youth could use to explore their own interests. Computers would be able to help with some of that but they wouldn’t give the youth the same pleasure as creating something with their own hands. To start the process of filling in the space, we bought some art supplies that they’d be able to use—acrylic paints, watercolors, brushes, origami, and scrapbooking paper, colored pencils, glitter, and more. The modeling clay was an instant hit, and both the younger and older children enjoyed stretching and feeling the modeling clay in their fingers. If you’d like to support doing the doable and making change each and every day, make a donation to … [Read more...] about Turning Places Into Creative Spaces