Our Affiliated Project: The Laboure School in San Salvador, El Salvador

 

facts about The Laboure School:

  • Ages served: 6 – 14
  • Facility description: A two-story building located adjacent to the San Salvador Marketplace. The building has a central courtyard (where children play sports and participate in student gatherings) as well as small classrooms, some of which have been expanded to accommodate high demand for quality education
  • Education: Children receive instruction in core academic subjects including English
  • Academic schedule: In El Salvador, the school year typically begins in mid-January and ends in early November. Students enjoy summer break from early- or mid-November through the first week of January
  • Training: The sisters of the Daughters of Charity, who operate this school, emphasize moral guidance and provide training in sewing, embroidery, cooking, and computer literacy.

Abundant in rivers, lakes, and fertile, tropical farmland, El Salvador’s wealth of natural beauty traverses a vast central plateau bordered by Pacific coastal plains to the south and rugged mountains to the north. For centuries, several Mesoamerican nations called this land home, including the Lenca, Olmec, Maya, and Pipil/Cutcatlec.

However, this smallest and most densely populated Central American nation is particularly susceptible to natural disasters like earthquakes and volcanic eruptions, and it has been plagued by chronic political and economic instability for more than a century. High unemployment rates, rising inflation, organized crime, and a soaring birthrate leave many Salvadorans to live in abject poverty.

The nation’s capital, San Salvador, is no exception to these maladies. For this reason, the Laboure School serves as a beacon of hope to this impoverished community.  Although originally founded in 1934 as an orphanage for girls, today it operates solely as a school, providing a well-rounded education and moral support to both boys and girls of the city of San Salvador. The school offers children here an opportunity to break the cycle of poverty and to rise above the difficult socio-economic circumstances from which they come.