In July of 2023, after reading an interview from a member of Los Angelitos in a local newspaper from El Salvador, Horizons Executive Director Rodrigo Konigs connected with the Asociación Los Angelitos, a non-profit organization that supports children and adults with disabilities, with some families residing in extremely remote areas of El Salvador. Fast forward to November, and Rodrigo and fellow Horizons staff were able to meet some of the members of the Los Angelitos team Melissa, Roxanne, Danilo, and Jesus. Extremely passionate about their work, the team graciously explained the history, mission, vision and values of this organization.

Los Angelitos was founded in 2004, by a group of 60 families with children with disabilities in the Guarjila municipality located in the northeastern region of El Salvador. Their objective is for children, adolescents, and adults with disabilities to receive family, community, economic, and political support that promotes personal development and growth.  Melissa and Jesus explained that children in El Salvador who require special education normally do not go to school as teachers and institutions are not equipped or trained to support those who may need their education to be delivered using alternative methods and catered to individual abilities.

Today Los Angelitos has a presence in 24 municipalities and 5 departments of El Salvador; with 23 volunteers, 15 physical therapists and 5 technical staff supporting over 700 families in rural areas. In El Salvador, children and adults with disabilities experience exclusion and a lack of support in all aspects of life, and are also living in severe conditions of poverty that do not allow for growth, proper education, or personal development. As there is no government support for families of children with disabilities provided, Los Angelitos defends the rights of disabled children and adults, improves their quality of life, and promotes a sense of community and encouragement among participating families. Their vision and mission is to build a society where children with disabilities can be included, have equal participation and opportunities, and access adequate levels of care and education.  

In order to do this, Los Angelitos works with youth and adults with a wide range of disabilities including those who have become disabled due to accident or injury, individuals with Down’s-Syndrome, Cerebral palsy, and other conditions that may impact mental and physical abilities. Often new families approach the organization for their supports, and Los Angelitos provides the family with a three-month trial period to participate in the program, to ensure they are dedicated and committed to supporting their child or young adult in every aspect.

 Los Angelitos then supports these families through providing life skills workshops, education, and physical therapy classes once a week in the family’s household. Los Angelitos also promotes community participation and engagement through hosting weekend events and fun sports activities for all abilities. For the youth who are able to attend school, Los Angelitos can provide teachers with resources catered to the individual who needs extra support due to their disability.

During our visit, Melissa told us that their key to sustainability is ensuring that every donation and financial contribution they receive counts. This often means that staff are under paid and offices are not fully equipped as rent can be a considerable expense. Thus far, they are able to achieve their program goals only through international funding from other organizations to cover the cost of families participating in their program.

We also met Roxanne, a mother who actively supports her child who became disabled due to an accident. Today, she is also one of Los Angelitos’ promoters who participates in family visits, teaches, and implements physiotherapy sessions. Each educator is a volunteer themselves, who often are also primary caregivers as this fosters trusting relationships with other families. She conducts in-house visits once a week to individuals in her department who cannot travel to their rehabilitation centre.

Another member of the team Danilo is an educator for Los Angelitos and a trained physical therapist. It is an educators responsibility to train promoters in curriculum, physical therapy exercises, and educational practices. He also receives further training from other physical therapists once a month to ensure programs and health plans for families are being updated frequently.

During our time in El Salvador, Los Angelitos introduced us to three incredible people that are within their program: David, Beatriz and Esau. Los Angelitos has been working with David for the past 12 years. Now 30, David kept repeating the first grade before eventually leaving school altogether. One of Davids struggles has been participating in his community but with the help and support of Los Angelitos, David has been able to be me more active with other families in his community, interact with other youth, and receives education and physical therapy on a weekly basis.

Beatriz was able to participate in school from the time she was 8 years old, to 30 years old, as her fellow classmates and friends growing up slowly became her teachers. As Beatriz has Down’s-Syndrome and is also diabetic, for the past 10 years Los Angelitos has been teaching her life skills including cooking, cleaning, personal care, reading and writing. She loves the sports events hosted by Los Angelitos and their various activities she can participate in throughout the year.

Los Angelitos also helps individuals with disabilities by providing them opportunities to support their families. When Esau was young, he had a responsibility to provide financial supports for his parents and family, and he decided to start selling bread and eggs in town. Through creating his small business, he was able to build clientele and eventually started a small store in his home. Los Angelitos financially supported the beginnings of the store, ensured the home was more wheelchair accessible for Esau, and helped him to learn how to use a mobile phone for communication with shoppers as he is also non-verbal. Esau continues to receive physical therapy sessions and education once a week provided by Los Angelitos.

Horizons is extremely excited to be partnering with an organization that does such vital work for so many families in El Salvador. Creating inclusive spaces, advocating for children and adults with disabilities, and providing them the social, educational, and physical supports they need for a dignified life are so important for increasing livelihoods. We are currently working on a larger project with Los Angelitos, which we hope to be fully implemented and running by the end of 2024 !