EMPOWER EL SALVADOR 

It would appear that during 2022 the Salvadoran government – in an attempt to decrease the country's massive homicide rate – had in some way been negotiating with the country's largest gang, Marasalvatrucha (aka MS-13 or MS). The negotiations broke down. Some have said that senior MS gang members were arrested by the government while others have claimed that MS were after greater gains than what the government were prepared to offer. Whatever the reason, there was a breakdown. It seems like, in order to punish or push the government, in just one weekend MS killed 87 people on the street. Many of these people were unarmed citizens simply going about their business. In fact 62 people were killed on Saturday alone.

Resulting from this, there has been a huge government crackdown (with the cooperation of police and army) on the Salvadoran gangs. As of January 2025, about 84,000 people suspected of being gang members and affiliates have been arrested following the enactment of new laws. In effect the government has said that any gangster is a terrorist, and any gang organization is a terrorist organization. And now anybody seen on the street with gang tattoos or anything that may incriminate them receives an automatic jail term of 10 - 15 years.  It is anticipated that initiated gang members may well never be released.                                                                Those gang members not yet arrested have gone underground while others have fled to neighboring Honduras, Mexico, and the USA. Human rights groups are crying foul saying that not all of those who have been arrested are gang members. And, having proven innocence some 8,000 people have been released.

Within El Salvador, there is a calm now. Whilst we are not criticizing the Salvadoran government here, nevertheless, what happens to the families (and especially the children) of those whose fathers will be locked up for 20 years? We have a huge concern for these fatherless children. Sometimes the partners of the gang members are being arrested as well. And, will those not-yet-arrested gang members simply “wise up” and stop tattooing their bodies with gang insignia and find other ways of operating?

This video shows the lives of brash young men (both unemployed and unemployable), along with an explanation of how the gangs were first formed. And then finally, life inside a Salvadoran prison. But keep in mind that these gang members have now been sent to a new super-prison - two meals a day (rice and beans) with metal bunks (no mattresses).

Gang lifestyle is entrenched in these communities. In the local Christian school in Soyapango, San Salvador, 90% of the children are from MS-13 gang families. Despite the positive school environment there, in the past half of the kids who graduate still end up being in the gang.         

Governance:  We have established a strong Empower El Salvador board that has successfully completed registration with the Salvadoran government.  We partner with an existing Salvadoran NGO. known as Asiste. Our work is based in Soyapango, San Salvador - a very significant gang area within the nation. We will have the same modus operandi as everywhere else where we work – partnering with local Christian leaders as opposed to sending missionaries. Our main leader and his team operating on the ground there, work and live among the gangs.

We have completed refurbishment of some extremely run down existing church facilities and as of January 2025 the program has commenced with our nine boys. The photo below displays one of the two classrooms and is also our kitchen/dining room.

The Education Centre operates like this: It is for boys aged 12-16 years from gang and/or vulnerable families who are desperate to study, to get ahead in life. These are boys who are well-behaved, but despite their positive enthusiasm, they nevertheless are at risk of ending up in some form of organised crime anyway. Following extensive interviews, our team have handpicked nine boys to start the program. The Center opens at midday, three days per week. Because our aim is to develop intelligent and articulate Christian men we have also enrolled them into the same private school.

In El Salvador, school commences at 7 am and finishes at 12 pm so then they walk to our nearby Center arriving in time for lunch together with the mentor. Then they study English, computer/I.T studies along with mathematics and Bible. Together they make dinner and eat as a family while being actively discipled by our mentors. Both group and individual counseling is available.

You can read more here if you wish.