Dr. JoAnn Burke and six students, including Michele Powell and Melissa Montoya, Social Work majors who graduated in May, 2005, participated in a seven-day immersion experience in El Salvador from March 4 – 11, 2005.

Lilia Periquet, social worker with the St. Joseph Health Center at Chapin Street, and Saint Mary's College Social Work Field Instructor, worked with our students in field placements there and made this trip an extension of their work with clients at St. Joseph Health Center at Chapin Street.This experience was facilitated through the El Salvador Encounter Program operated by CRISPAZ, Christians for Peace in El Salvador.

CRISPAZ, founded in 1984, is a faith-based organization dedicated to poverty-stricken and marginalized communities in El Salvador. They are dedicated to building bridges of solidarity between communities in El Salvador and those in the United States. CRISPAZ strives to provide programs and offer services that work to promote peace, justice, and human liberation.

One such program is the El Salvador Encounter in which the group participated. This encounter was an intensive learning experience for North Americans visiting El Salvador. It provided the students and Dr. Burke with an opportunity to explore a different reality and to build relationships with the people of El Salvador. Each day of the El Salvador Encounter ended in discussion and reflection, which was an invaluable opportunity to process the significance of the encounter. Through this experience the students and Dr. Burke fostered a sense of solidarity with the Salvadoran people, built intercultural relations, and learned about opportunities how we, as women, can advocate for the poor and marginalized.

We extend our sincere appreciation to the Saint Mary’s College Center for Women’s InterCultural Leadership, our Saint Mary's College Social Work field instructors at St. Joseph Regional Medical Center, and the Garcia Fund at the Saint Joseph Regional Medical Center Foundation for their support of this learning experience.