We will worship together, and dialogue for a week with church leaders, peasants leading the struggle for strong rural policies to strengthen family and cooperative farming, women s groups and local development councils. One year after Hurricane Mitch we will study it's causes with lay workers and peasants. On November 19 th you may choose to return to Fort Benning, GA to join in solidarity with thousands of people who are dedicated to closing the School of the Americas, where the military men who assassinated the Jesuits and so many others in El Salvador received their training. This delegation will join thousands of community activists and people of faith to commemorate the 19th anniversary of the martyrdom of the four churchwomen, Ita Ford, Maura Clarke, Dorothy Kaizel, and Jean Donovan who were killed on December 2, 1980. Reflecting on these women's commitment to peace with justice for the poorest Salvadorans we will examine the situation for women today.
Poverty wears a woman's face.
Campesina women farmers will share their work to ensure a gender perspective in the reconstruction efforts as well as in the development of more just agricultural policies. As thousands of Salvadorans prepare to commemorate the 20 th anniversary of the assassination of Archbishop Romero, they will also be going to the polls to elect their legislative and municipal representatives on March 12 th in the fourth post-war election in El Salvador. There has been significant change in the electoral system since Archbishop Romero witnessed two rounds of fraudulent elections in 1972 and 1977, a coup d'etat in 1980 and massive human rights abuses against the poor and the organized. But, there is much work to be done to further open El Salvador's political and economic systems to the participation of the poor majority. This delegation will observe the 2000 elections and make recommendations for future electoral reform.