My research progress

When I started my research for my essay, I was having trouble with the argument I wanted to make for my chosen candidate. I knew I wanted to help my chosen candidate because she was a single mother and wanted the loan to help her small business, which would help to keep her kids out of poverty and in school so they could have better lives. As I did my research, I began to realize that keeping kids in school is very important in El Salvador because, according to Donna DeCesare in her report, "The Children of War: Street Gangs in El Salvadaor," 40% of children in El Salvador go to school and 29% work, which leaves 31% of children's time unknown. If we could get the other 31% in school, it will help keep them away from gang activity. Education is also important for kids' future because it can also work towards ending the cycle of poverty for these families. As Howard Cotto, assistant national police chief and a former guerrilla commander said in an article titled, "As Gang Violence Sweeps El Salvador, Rumor Has It That Only Gangsters' Girlfriends Can Be Blondes," written by Alberto Arce for The World Post, "nothing will change unless the country addresses problems of poverty and a lack of opportunity for young people." Education and lack of opportunity is what needs to be focused on to help keep kids out of gangs, but it all does begin with the poverty they experience at home. Helping the parents who want better lives for their kids and who want their kids in school is where the action needs to start. As El Salvador's Child Protection Agency director, Zaira Navas said in an article for CBS News titled, "In El Salvador, Kids Seek Refuge from the Violence," by Manuel Bojorquez, "we need to attach out economic problems and invest in our communities," It all begins with helping the families that want better futures for the kids, like my chosen Kiva candidate, Maria Magdalena. https://www.kiva.org/lend/1025132

Beautiful skyline phone of El Sunzal, El Salvador. Image courtesy of Travel @ http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/destinations/centralamericaandcaribbean/7479289/El-Salvador-a-guide-for-beginners.html