Love to El Salvador
Traveling is always an adventure and this trip was no exception! Our team of 4 - Andrea, Ella, Estefany, and Ceallaigh trekked all over El Salvador spreading photo love for 8 days! We have included some highlights here. We have SO many wonderful stories and memories that we would love to share with you! If you are interested in hearing more (because you are headed to El Salvador yourself and want some recommendations, interested in our work, or going on a Print the Love trip, or something else!), let's set up a coffee date! In person or virtually. Email Ceallaigh at ceallaigh@printthelove.org.
When asked about their experience on the trip, here are some responses from the team:
“It was an experience of a lifetime and Ceallaigh was amazing! The trip was amazing and everyone should try one.”
“Every place we stayed was more than I could have expected. So wonderful.”
“Going to El Salvador with Print the Love was an amazing adventure and throughout our time there, there was always something wonderful at every turn. It reminded again and again how incredible and kind people are and how beautiful the world is. It was an incredibly special thing to spread kindness so simply and to have something meaningful to offer the wonderful people that we met.”
“I learned that the people of El Salvador are incredibly kind, welcoming, and warm. The level of poverty in El Salvador was something I had never seen before, and I was inspired by the happiness and joy I witnessed in some of the poorest communities. I felt so grateful and honored to be welcomed into people’s homes and fell in love with how much time, care, and patience is put into creating the simplest, but most delightful things like tortillas, intricate hammocks, and fabrics. The landscape of El Salvador was breathtaking, and I was surprised by the range of its geography. I felt like each place we stayed was its own world and I absolutely loved experiencing it all.”
“Ceallaigh was an amazing leader, team member, travel buddy, and friend and I feel so grateful for having had the opportunity to volunteer in El Salvador! Thank you so much for all you do in supporting Print the Love!”
EL Salvador Trip Highlights:
El Salvador is an incredible country - in its people, culture, and natural landscape.
We gave away over 1,000 photos! The joy of giving away photos is profound - both for the giver and the receiver.
We included protectors with each photo, thanks to a donation from UltraPro! So that the photos can last for generations!
In addition to the photos, we gave over 100 custom note cards to school children made by elementary students form Minnesota with the message, "You matter!" written in Spanish.
Over the 8 days on the ground, we stayed in 4 different cities in El Salvador - San Salvador, La Union, Joateca, Santa Ana. We meet such wonderful people and recommend all the lodging! See links above.
We gave away photos from the back of a truck (our first time!), at a work study youth program, 5 markets where we met and spoke to unhomed individuals and families, 2 orphanages, a women’s sewing class where they were surprised with a gifted machine to start their business, very remote communities, neighborhoods, an older persons home, and a community health program.
In addition, we ate lots of pupusas, traveled to the ocean (Ella’s first time!), played with lots of puppies and dogs, fought a bat in the bathroom (haha), made homemade tortillas, did a zipline excursion, and explored a hidden path to a waterfall.
Our drivers (Kevin and Ever) were awesome! They contributed to our mission in remarkable ways.
And a HUGE thank you to all our amazing donors who helped make this trip happen!
