Learn more about our upcoming short-term mission trips, as well as our proud history of service in El Salvador.

Current Project: Mizata Youth Center

From July 9 - 17, 2008 a group of thirty-one (31) from St. Hilary parish and surrounding parishes are returned to the impoverished village of Mizata in El Salvador. This village was chosen because it is one of the poorest within this very poor country, yet it has a very strong and devout Catholic population. Our primary project this year is working along side the local community to build a Youth Center.

The youth of Mizata desperately need an alternative to gang influence. Due to the lack of opportunities and the poor El Salvadorian economy, gang violence is on the rise. These gangs are considered some of the most violent in the world and prey upon the youth of small villages like Mizata. An increase in gang activity equates to an increase in violence, drug use and prostitution. These gangs actively recruit by portraying gang life as they only option to a life of poverty.

In places like Mizata, the only thing that stands between these gangs and society's most vulnerable is the Catholic Church. This youth center will give the village of Mizata a venue where the Mizata's youth will be safe. Beyond its faith-base programs, this youth center will also be used to teach important skills like English and computer skills. These skills will help better equip the youth of Mizata to get a good job and earn a decent wage.

At a cost in excess of $30,000, this project has been financed entirely by the fundraising efforts of SCTHP ($31,500) and the Dioceses of San Salvador ($2500). We anticipate that construction will be completed later this summer. Stay tuned for more information and updates on construction. We are tentatively planning to have a formal dedication on September 29th on the Feast of St. Michael the Archangel, one of the patron saints of the church in Mizata.

Previous Projects

Mizata Housing Project 2005:
In our first mission trip, 15 missionaries from St. Hilary (Fairlawn, OH) and beyond built four houses in August 2005.

Cacho de Oro Water Project 2006:
This mountain-top village hadn't a regular supply of water since an earthquake five years earlier. In an extremely challenging project, SCTHP missionaries installed a complete watering system and restored running water to an extremely grateful population.

Mizata Housing Project 2006:
The two-room brick housing project was expanded in Mizata in July 2006 to include two more homes.

San Pedro Latrine Project 2006:
Dubbed the "extreme latrine" mission, a handful of missionaries camped in this remote village for six days while constructing brick latrines to meet this area's most fundamental need for sanitation systems.

Mizata Housing Project 2007:
In our third trip to Mizata, twenty-three missionaries constructed four more homes in the course of a one-week mission trip in July 2007.

Mizata Educational Ministry and Mission 2007-2008:
As a representative of Serving Christ Through His Poor, Hajna Batizy (also of St. Hilary Parish) has shared the gospel of our Lord Christ Jesus in service and example in El Salvador. Under supervision of the Franciscan Missionary Sisters, Hajna has used her God given talents by offering English language skills to help the poor be better prepared for the demands for better employment in El Salvador.