Education

21 Dec

Making Central American Dreams Come True

In the past, we’ve often emphasized how your Christmas donation to CoCoDA would help us purchase so many bricks, books, medicines, solar panels, and other tangible items.  While these are important, those objects are always connected to real people. This year, we’re asking you to donate to people and their dreams!Rosa Murillo is better known as Morena. She has been a nurse since the civil war in El Salvador. Since then, she worked as a nurse for her community, paid and unpaid.A donation...

Continuing Education Program
02 Oct

CoCoDA Adjusts to the Pandemic

The pandemic has changed life for all of us – in the United States and in Central America.  One of the chief challenges for CoCoDA has been how to continue to meet our mission of connecting North Americans and Central Americans. We had to cancel all delegations during 2020 and 2021. With the Delta variant hitting Central America this month, we cancelled the delegations planned for January and February of 2022.  These challenges have forced us to be creative in continuing to...

CRC - CoCoDA
26 Feb

DePauw University supports the work of the CRC and the community radio station in Suchitoto

CRC Suchitoto, our partner in El Salvador, received four computers as a donation from DePauw University. The computers were completely refurbished and loaded with Spanish language software. They will be used by CRC and the community radio station in Suchitoto. Thank you to DePauw and Professor Doug Harms for obtaining and refurbishing the computers. If you want to support our communities in El Salvador and Nicaragua, you can do your donation and/or contact Jim Mulholland info@cocoda.org 317-503-5852 ...

Introduction to the history of El Salvador - CoCoDA
30 Jan

Seventeen Centre College students study and work in Santa Marta and Masatepeque, El Salvador

Seventeen students from Centre College, Kentucky visited Santa Marta, Cabañas and Masatepeque in Suchitoto in a course of study and service learning. During sixteen days, Centre College students were part of the two communities, living in homestays and working side by side while learning the culture, the history and lifestyles of the local people. In Santa Marta, the students visited CoCoSI (a HIV/AIDS prevention organization), Sueños de Madera (a woodworking cooperative) and the Organic Farming Cooperative of the Santa Marta community. At each...

Composting Latrines in Zacataloza, Nicaragua
03 Oct

Composting Latrines, an initiative in Nicaragua

Nicaragua Composting Latrine Project In March of 2018, delegations from Indiana University and West Virginia University completed the final two composting latrine demonstration sites in our six site initiative. We now have six demonstration composting latrines in four communities – Zacataloza, Cacao, La Sabanita, and Aguas Calientes. These composting latrines are being used by school children as well as community members and utilized to teach the advantages of composting latrines. In December of 2018, staff will evaluate the training regimen, maintenance and...

03 Oct

Scholarship program is a sign of hope for youth in Zacataloza, Nicaragua

CoCoDA is commited to the education of youth in rural Central American communities by supporting their efforts to continue their studies in primary, high school and university. We do this by building schools, supporting teachers and providing scholarships. In 2019, the scholarship program in Zacataloza, Nicaragua continued to provide seven deserving scholars the opportunity to continue their secondary education as well as facilitate the attendance of one community member to a university nursing program. These young people, selected and monitored by...

IU Med Students in El Salvador, CoCoDA
03 Oct

Indiana University Medical Students get a new experience living in El Salvador in September 2019

During September, as part of the Indiana University School of Medicine ENLACE program, four fourth-year medical students traveled to El Salvador for a family medicine rotation at the Health Center, La Mora Clinic, National Hospital, and Suchitoto Association of Midwives. They worked alongside Salvadoran doctors and the midwives three days each week. They also learned about the similarities and differences between the cultures and healthcare systems. They visited historical and cultural sites to learn about Salvadoran history and immersed themselves in...

Scholarship - CoCoDA
12 Jul

Youth Leadership Education Campaign (YLC)

In the past ten years, CoCoDA has partnered with other organizations to support the Youth Leadership Education Campaign (YLC). This program helps between 30-35 youth attend college each year from the Santa Marta and Suchitoto regions. While tuition is only $50 a year in El Salvador, living in San Salvador is very expensive. The YLC program provides two rent free student houses. This is not a loan program. As part of this scholarship program, these students commit to return to their...

Scholarship house in San Salvador for students from communities
26 Feb

Scholarship House becomes a Reality

In February of 2019, after years of fundraising, CoCoDA provided our partners ADES with a $75,000 grant to purchase a large home in San Salvador to serve as a dormitory for the Youth Leadership Campaign (YLC). After years of paying rent, the program now has a permanent home within walking distance from the University of El Salvador. For many years, CoCoDA has been supporting the Youth Leadership Campaign (YLC) in El Salvador. This unique program provides room and board for about...