One for all...

Chico Peña is a volunteer in COMUS, an organisation that works with reconciliation and advising in 40 communities in El Salvador.

By Mette Engel Friis

29. January 2004

The low afternoon sun penetrates through the leaves in a dusty wave. It hits the man who is pushing the family oxen through the low vegetation with his sleepy daughter in his arms. The smell of freely growing herbs rises from the forest floor as the small company ruffles them on its way.

The moment represents the calmness and serenity of the world.

And Chico Peña knows how to enjoy the harmony because he has tried all other extremes. Poverty, when he could neither afford oxen nor had enough food to eat. War, when nobody could walk in the forest or on his/her land. Earthquakes, when no houses could stand the force of nature.

Not that the difficult times have left external traces on his face or his courtesy. A hearty smile is seldom missing. Boundless optimism for the future in the genuine belief that it is now progressing well with kind people’s help is reflected through his words and actions. “Life is better today than ever,” he maintains.

Success should be shared

“My wife was expecting our first child in 1990. We did not have a house and I had no job. Just as it was looking worst, I got in touch with COMUS and it helped me with a loan for my coffee production and with medical assistance so that I did not have to spend a lot of money on expensive doctors for my wife. It helped me so that I could save up for a house, animals and land.”

So much success could have lead to Chico Peña enjoying a comfortable lying in his hammock and reflecting on his success. But this is far from his nature. Luck is the will of God and one should not rest on his laurels. His philosophy is that success redoubles just like love, if it is shared.

Therefore, Chico Peña himself started working in COMUS on a voluntary basis. He wanted to help others towards a better life, in the same way as he was helped.

The organisation was established in 1989 while the civil war was still raging. In the beginning, it worked mostly with helping the peasants who were badly affected by the war. When the peace agreement was signed in 1992, the nature of its work also changed.

In order to enable the society to function and heal, it was necessary to bring both fronts together again. Hatred and distrust were the worst weeds and they threatened to strangle the growth completely.

Therefore, COMUS embarked on work with reconciliation.

“We were tired after 12 years of civil war. People were ready to proceed further. Gradually, we got them to work together with various projects. And we succeeded because we ourselves went in the forefront to set an example. We worked with all groups irrespective of which side they were on during the war,” says Chico Peña.

480 families were specifically helped by receiving the deeds for their own land, and people helped each other with growing coffee and other crops.

“Due to the war and my family being poor, I have never attended school. The situation is better today, and God willing, my daughters will at least be able to attend school up to the 9^th class.”

Chico Peña

Coffee crisis

When the coffee crisis became evident in the middle of the 90’s, perplexity crept in again. What could be done now?

It was at this time that COMUS entered into a co-operation with MS. “MS was, by and large, the only one that supported us at that time and it was an extremely important strategic ally. They made us believe that there was a way out, and MS helped us with cultivating herbs for natural medicine, organic sesame seeds – and later also for starting production of organic highland coffee. Products which we now sell to hotels, restaurants and shops around El Salvador,” says Chico Peña. The pride in his voice is evident. Although it was essential to receive assistance from outside, it would have been useless if the small communities were not ready to learn and work purposefully. His gentle brown eyes have turned serious. The happy smile has given way to tight lips. Chico Peña and his neighbours have achieved much. They have now realised their own strength.

“We were all hurt after the war. Mostly, our souls and trust were destroyed. However, we have understood now that we must stand united to proceed further. We have seen that the politicians celebrate and drink together irrespective of their political beliefs. They hold the power and what they do agree is that they will try to exploit and use us e.g. the poor. Therefore, we must stand united in the fact that we are peasants and we are poor. And this creates the solidarity on which we can build a solid wall.” Little Catherin Vanessa has felt the sudden change in his father’s mood. She wakes up with a start. And immediately, Chico Peña is his old, gentle self again. He strokes his daughter lovingly on the cheek.

“Do you understand, what I mean? There are so many reasons to work together,” he says calmly.