Hi, I’m Jaime. I come from a country in Central America called El Salvador. It is a small country, but rich in natural resources and indigenous history. However, El Salvador has been afflicted for many years by political instability, social injustices and poverty — which has generated different forms of violence and social upheaval.
In recent years, the violence has intensified and thus created a lack of trust among citizens because each person poses a threat to you. Many times the situation right now is overwhelming, and leaves me feeling powerless in front of such a complex social problem.
In 2014, I lived for a while with other young people in a small town in Argentina called Mariapolis Lia. It is a place where the law of the town is the law of Love. We always tried to put into practice the golden rule to “Do to others as you would have them do to you”. I realized how beautiful it would be to build a society in which we all care for each other.
However, when I returned to El Salvador I faced again the struggle of my country. The situation was really difficult. It had become more violent and it was even risky to go out on the streets at any time during the day. I used to go out to the local sports fields by bus, and even this had become dangerous. You never know whether you would get home at night in one piece.
Given the difficult situation, my parents, my sister and I thought of leaving the country. But after talking together about what we should do, we decided to stay in order to be a light in this dark place in these dark times.
Around that time I read an article about Youth for a United World from the Middle East. They shared how they have decided to stay in their country in spite of the war to be ready to help injured people after the attacks. Their experience inspired me and reinforced my determination to stay and meet the sufferings of my people.
That was how we decided to launch a campaign called: ‘Change your Square Metre’ which could also be “Change your square foot.” This means building peace in our own local space. We know our country’s problem is complex, but we can make a difference with our daily lives, with the people we meet, with the daily tasks we have to do. At a personal level I try to go beyond to help my classmates for a difficult math exam, or to create positive relationships with my neighbors.
But this has also moved us to create an impact in our society. Together with the Youth for United World in El Salvador we have involved other people by building a better environment in a local park: like painting the walls, cleaning the streets, collecting rubbish, and installing trash bins. We launched a book campaign which intends to send books to towns with high student absence rates. We also collaborate with other movements by visiting elderly people at assisted living facilities, and by collaborating with institutions that provide meals and shelter for the homeless. Adults support us in collecting food and open their homes to let us cook. It’s amazing how the food is always enough for all those who don’t have a home!
We may not be able to change our country at once, but square metre by square metre we can make a change!
Jaime Zayas
