A Q & A with Mario Lima, CARE Country Director in El Salvador

by Gretchen Hemes, Associate Editor/Writer

Q: What are CARE's greatest accomplishments in El Salvador since the earthquakes that struck in January and February?

A: We were able to rapidly provide a meaningful response, particularly to the people we were working with before the earthquake. We tried to address their needs as fast as possible. At the same time, we were thinking of the future; about what's next. For instance, we provided emergency food rations, drinking water and temporary shelters, but concurrently, we were trying to find ways to keep the water systems running. We worked to develop a strategy to cope with housing issues -- not only those issues caused by the earthquake, but in El Salvador in general. And CARE developed a strategy to help people cope with stress and reestablish the social fabric of their communities. We trained about 100 community leaders to serve as counselors.

CARE has provided temporary shelter for nearly 38,000 people in dozens of the hardest-hit, poorest communities of El Salvador. All photos by Rebecca Janes © CARE 2001.

A: One task is to facilitate a dialogue with governments and the private sector to discuss the future. My main concern is that there are many efforts underway, but these have not been cohesive or very well coordinated to this point. Without dictating the course of the dialogue, I think CARE can play an important role in terms of bringing people to the table. And CARE can contribute to the planning and coordination of relief and development work into the future.

Future generations will benefit from many of today's relief efforts, such as rebuilding schools and improving access to clean water.

This type of coordination will help avoid duplication and keep organizations from reinventing the wheel. By improving communication and forging new working relationships, CARE hopes to facilitate the exchange and spread of knowledge between organizations, communities and families.

We need to learn from each other and multiply the small successes, rather than reinvent what's already been done. We want to create more common knowledge about what works and disseminate that knowledge among the civil society, local and central government and the private sector. This could be an invaluable CARE contribution to the transformation of El Salvador.

Finally, I think CARE can help initiate discussions about how to further the process of decentralizing the government and empowering local authorities to address their most pressing concerns. These efforts already are underway, and CARE hopes to facilitate the process because local authorities have the greatest understanding about what their needs are. For example, where it's best to build houses or which locations will put people at risk. We want to bring local businesses and communities together with local governments so they can discuss the future and decide on common goals.

Q: What are some of the challenges CARE faces in El Salvador?

A: As I mentioned, CARE wants to help people, organizations and governments exchange ideas and share information about what works when it comes to helping communities overcome poverty. CARE needs to be a part of that discussion, not only because we have knowledge to share, but because we need to learn from others. We can challenge ourselves as an organization to look beyond our traditional approaches and find new models that are even more effective at combating poverty.

Back to work: this young man's employer was able to reopen his guitar workshop with help from CARE.

Another challenge will be bringing players to the table who have seemingly divergent interests. It takes a great deal of courage and vision to sit down with a person who has historically been seen as an adversary. Discussions about power and control of resources are inherently difficult, but they are not impossible. I think the people of El Salvador will realize there is much more to be gained in compromise than there is to be lost.

Those, to me, are the greatest challenges. One is internal to CARE and one is external, meaning the environment in which we operate.

Q: Looking forward, what types of programs will CARE concentrate on in El Salvador?

A: Water and sanitation will be a very strong area. We are well recognized throughout the country and the international community as one of the most experienced organizations implementing water programs in El Salvador. So we have lessons to offer other organizations in this area. CARE also has dedicated a lot of effort to improving agriculture, natural resources and environmental management, and this type of programming will continue. Additionally, we have begun work in education, and I envision this will be a very strong sector for CARE in the future. We also have great interest in helping local governments (municipalities) and communities build their capacity to manage their development process on their own. So, CARE could play an advisor role providing the tools and methodologies that will empower local communities to make their own decisions. And then, together, civil society, local and national governments, the private sector and CARE will find ways to implement these decisions.

Beyond that, I envision more and more integration between different programs, for instance agriculture and water programs will be closely tied. CARE has already begun this, but it will happen even more in the future.

Of course, I envision doing this in close collaboration with other local and international non-governmental organizations.

Q: What should people outside of El Salvador know about CARE's work here, and the current situation in general?

A: I would like people to know that CARE's current and future efforts support local development, as opposed to imposing foreign models of development. Our commitment is to the people of El Salvador, in terms of creating conditions for them to make informed decisions and to shape their own futures. We hope to make links between the different groups that have something to say about each problem. In essence, we want to help El Salvador transform itself, not just rebuild itself.