TECHO El Salvador

TECHO El Salvador (formerly Un Techo para El Salvador, UTPMP El Salvador) is the Salvadoran national branch of TECHO, a Latin American and Caribbean non-governmental organization that works to overcome poverty in informal settlements. The organization was founded in 2001, after two earthquakes struck El Salvador, when Javier Guzmán, a Salvadoran student at the Universidad Católica de Chile and a volunteer with TECHO Chile, proposed exporting the model of building temporary emergency housing to his home country. With the support of the Fundación Empresarial para la Acción Social (FUNDEMAS), the first houses were built in Cojutepeque, and more than 100 university volunteers were introduced to the living conditions of the country's poorest families. A group of students from the Escuela Superior de Economía y Negocios (ESEN) then committed to ensuring that no Salvadoran family would continue living in such conditions. The organization is made up of young university volunteers and residents of low-income communities, united by the goal of building a more just El Salvador where families in the most excluded and impoverished settlements can have a more dignified roof over their heads. Its mission is to work tirelessly in precarious settlements to overcome poverty through training and joint action by residents and young volunteers, promoting community development, denouncing the situation of the most excluded communities, and influencing public policy together with other actors. TECHO El Salvador operates within TECHO's regional model, which combines emergency housing construction with a second phase of "Habilitación Social" (social enablement) aimed at strengthening community capacities and fostering integral development. According to the Spanish-language Wikipedia article, by June 2011 the organization had built 2,173 houses, mobilized 8,000 young volunteers in emergency housing constructions across more than 100 communities, and was working with 30 communities in the social enablement phase. It had also carried out 20 medical campaigns, 25 job-training sessions, trained 714 people, and provided 215 microcredits. Key milestones in its history include the 2005 "Casa en el aire" campaign following Hurricane Stan, which mobilized more than a thousand volunteers and doubled the number of beneficiary families; a permanent partnership with Scotiabank beginning in 2005 that supported the social enablement model from 2006; the death of volunteer Mario Moreno in September 2007 due to the country's violence; and a partnership with TEXACO in 2008–2009 that provided roofs for more than 200 families. On 28 May 2010, the campaign "Un Gol por un Techo" was launched. TECHO El Salvador is part of TECHO's regional network, which is present in 18 countries in Latin America and the Caribbean and brings together determined young people and residents of low-income communities to transform outrage into collective action. The regional organization works to ensure that no one has to live on a dirt floor by developing housing projects, basic services, living environments, and infrastructure. Its Vision 2030 aims to transform the quality of life for 1 million people who no longer live in mud-floored homes in Latin America and the Caribbean, through the mobilization of 2 million volunteers. TECHO relies on more than 40,000 members who donate monthly, as well as volunteers and corporate partners, to continue its work overcoming poverty in informal settlements.

TECHO El Salvador was born in 2001, after two earthquakes shook the nation. The need to provide housing for affected families led Javier Guzmán, a Salvadoran student at the Universidad Católica de Chile and a volunteer with TECHO Chile, to export the idea of building temporary houses. He proposed helping El Salvador. In collaboration with the Fundación Empresarial para la Acción Social (FUNDEMAS), the first houses were built in Cojutepeque, and more than 100 university volunteers learned about the reality faced by the country's poorest families. This gave rise to an initiative among students of the Escuela Superior de Economía y Negocios (ESEN) to ensure that no Salvadoran family would continue living in such inhuman conditions. Among these young Salvadorans were Billy Eduardo Marinero Palacios, Juan Pablo Fontán, Bianca Villanova, Rodrigo Barraza, Fausto Cea Najarro, Leopoldo Cea Najarro, José Alegría, and Ligia Marcela Fuentes Serrano. The idealistic path put into practice was not as easy as expected. The first challenge was financing the houses, a difficult step due to the organization's low profile and short track record. The person who believed in the project from the beginning was Don Ricardo Poma, who financed the first 6 houses that were built, opening the door to new sponsors, including companies and altruistic families, who consolidated the first years of growth of Techo El Salvador. The year 2005 coincided with the UTPMP milestone of the "casa en el aire" (house in the air) due to Hurricane Stan. More than a thousand volunteers, companies, and citizens turned out to work in the communities, and the number of beneficiary families doubled. That year, Banco Scotiabank decided to make a permanent contribution to society through UTPMP, an alliance that drove ongoing work with the most vulnerable families, leading in 2006 to the second step of the institution's intervention model: Habilitación Social (social enablement). Volunteering spread through the country's most important universities in search of hundreds of students who, in a few years, would take the reins of El Salvador. Young people became increasingly committed to the country through the project. In September 2007, a painful part of UTPMPES's history was written: the country's violence took the life of "Voluntario de Corazón" Mario Moreno, a committed person with contagious joy, who is now the driving force and banner in the fight against poverty. An ally that believed in TECHO El Salvador's way of working, launching a joint campaign of great impact, was the company TEXACO. In 2008 and 2009, this company provided roofs for more than 200 families and united all its customers to achieve this goal. The results of the companies, families, and individuals who have believed in UTPMPES and in El Salvador are tangible: more than 2,173 families with dignified roofs; 30 communities working in Habilitación Social, themselves becoming managers of their integral development; and 714 graduates of job-training programs. All of this could not be a reality without the volunteers and committed people who work for a better El Salvador. According to the Spanish-language Wikipedia article, TECHO El Salvador in figures up to June 2011 included: 2,173 houses built; 8,000 young volunteers mobilized in emergency housing constructions in more than 100 different communities; 30 communities currently working in the second phase of the intervention model, Habilitación Social; 126 young people participating in social enablement every weekend; 20 medical campaigns carried out in communities; 25 job-training sessions implemented; 714 people trained; and 215 microcredits delivered. Important historical events include: the "Casa en el aire" in 2005, carried out due to the damage caused by Hurricane Stan in the poorest communities, when more than a thousand volunteers united to work in the most needy areas to build a home for many affected families; in the same year, Banco Scotiabank made its contribution to society through UTPMP-ES to drive permanent work with the most vulnerable families and sustain the project; the painful loss of a volunteer in September 2007, when the social problem of violence affecting El Salvador resulted in the death of Mario Moreno, a committed volunteer with much contagious joy who became the driving person for UTPMPES to continue fighting poverty; TEXACO becoming an ally for UTPMPES, achieving roofs for 200 families over two consecutive years (2008–2009); the increase in the number of volunteers, which since UTPMPES began reached more than 7,500 people in constructions and projects to provide emergency housing for people in extreme poverty; and on 28 May 2010, the campaign "Un Gol por un Techo" was launched.

• 2011

  By June, 2,173 houses built, 8,000 volunteers mobilized, 30 communities in social enablement.

• 2010

  "Un Gol por un Techo" campaign launched on 28 May.

• 2008

  TEXACO partnership begins, providing roofs for more than 200 families over 2008–2009.

• 2007

  Volunteer Mario Moreno killed in September due to the country's violence.

• 2006

  Second phase of intervention model, Habilitación Social (social enablement), launched.

• 2005

  "Casa en el aire" campaign after Hurricane Stan; more than a thousand volunteers mobilized and beneficiary families doubled. Scotiabank begins permanent partnership.

• 2001

  TECHO El Salvador founded after two earthquakes; first houses built in Cojutepeque with FUNDEMAS support.

A youth volunteer-driven NGO chapter working to overcome poverty in informal settlements through emergency housing and community development.

• Emergency housing

  Temporary houses built by volunteers for families in informal settlements.

• Habilitación Social (social enablement)

  Second phase of the intervention model focused on community development and capacity building.

• Job training and microcredits

  Programs providing skills training and microcredits to community residents.

1. 1TECHO official websitetecho.org
2. 2About TECHOtecho.org
3. 3Corporate Partnershipstecho.org
4. 4TECHO El Salvador - Wikipedia (Spanish)es.wikipedia.org
5. 5Wikidata Q6140076wikidata.org