What 3 incredible lessons did I learn in the hills of El Salvador?

I first discovered and celebrated International Women’s Day with a large group of Salvadoran women and children at the Segundo Montes repopulated refugee community on March 8, 1992.

That day I heard the experiences of mothers, grandmothers, and young women who had suffered through years of civil war, the loss of villages, and the flight across borders with soldiers and helicopters on their heels. I heard about the struggle to survive from a women’s perspective as partners, and mothers many of whom were left to raise children, and scrape out a living in exile while their men were absorbed into one side of the war or the other, disappeared, or killed. These were tales of true survivors – some of whom where not yet healed.

As the day progressed I also heard stories of women joining together to care for each other and their children and to take up positions of leadership in the rebuilding of the community. At the end of the day we joined hands in a circle to laugh and sing and send out prayers.

Now 18 years later I see clearly the 3 incredible lessons I absorbed that day:

1. Regardless of the hardship you suffer there is a strength and perseverance of spirit that only develops under severe stress but from which new life and renewed hope can grow.

2. Focus on what you have and what is here – not on what you don’t have. Be active in the solution to your situation. In the translated words of another Segundo Montes visitor about what he saw, “wealth is created from the inside out.”

3. Both numbers 1 & 2 are vastly enhanced if you do it in community. When working together it’s easier (and more fun) to live with joy and hope in the moment and take advantage of opportunities to celebrate the achievements already made though the road ahead appears long and hard.

Karen

P.S. Celebrate International Woman’s Day on the 8th! You will be participating in a nearly 100 year old tradition with women, men and children from around the world! Go to http://www.internationalwomensday.com/ to learn more.

P.S.S. 70% of Fair Trade producers are women! Fair Trade supports women to not only survive but thrive, create, and live in joy and health!