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FMLN National Women�sSecretariat: $5,000

Women constitute the majority ofthe population in El Salvador andlive with the problems of marginalization, violence and socioeconomicexclusion. For this reason, it is of primary importance for the FMLN Women�sSecretariat to support and strengthen spaces, methods, policies and strategiesthat foment the leadership of women in the solving of their own problems. Themain goals for the Women�s Secretariat are to promote the participation ofwomen in defending their right and access to vote and to continue empoweringwomen to assert their rights in the broader society. This work will beformulated in a series of leadership trainings and local assemblies that willserve to build a class and gender consciousness based on analysis of women�sown experiences.� These trainings willcover subjects like the state�s structural violence against women, politicaland ideological formation, alternative and popular communication, etc.

Public Water Workers Union (SETA):$4,000

Thewater worker�s union (SETA) is atthe forefront of the fight against water privatization, which will determinewhether water is regarded as a public, human right for Salvadorans or as asource of profit for corporations. �SETA membersplan to continue their organizing and mobilizing efforts to form a united blocagainst water privatization. The current Salvadoran government is makingnormative and institutional changes in its administration of water that willaffect the majority of Salvadorans who are poor and will not be able to affordwater service provided by private companies. SETA�sstruggle against the privatization of water involves the creation of PublicForums on the Defense of Water. Another component to the water forums is thecreation of permanent local committees in defense of water.� The committees count on the participation oflocal authorities such as municipal governments, community organizations, andwater boards. Their main goal is to permanently monitor and denounce the stepstaken to privatize the water of Salvadorans.

Youth Project of Mejicanos:$3,000

The government of the city of Mejicanos has prioritized creating positiveand recreational spaces for youth in order to prevent and minimize the levels ofviolence in Salvadoran society. The majority of the youth in Mejicanos areunder great risk given the context of poverty which generates frustration,violence and insecurity. All of this is aggravated by the anti-crime policiesimposed by the central government that are repressive and mainly result inincarceration and further exclusion of youth.�High levels of crime are intimately related to the lack of recreationaland cultural spaces especially for youth. Therefore, as a concrete step towardsbenefiting the youth of Mejicanos, the municipal government built a Youth Centerlast year. For 2008, Mejicanos has planned to strengthen this space by creatinga cultural program for children and youth in the arts, sports, and language andcomputer areas. The municipal council has prioritized the strengthening of the Youth Centerby supplying it with the basic equipment to offer the planned artistic andsports activities for youth.� Inaddition, providing technical training for youth is also important as it may resultin better opportunities for youth and their families.

Strategic Organizing Fund: $1000

TheStrategic Organizing Fund serves the important role of allowing CISPES to respond to the immediate needs that arise forthe Salvadoran social movement. In the past this fund has been used to financeemergency mobilizations, strikes, protests, picket lines and othermobilizations that are not included in the rest of CISPES�sdocket. With the increase in state repression, attacks on the FMLN, socialmovement leaders and activists, and the recently passed �Anti-terrorist Law�,government authoritarianism and human rights violations are expected to rise.This emergency fund will support mobilizations and resistance to these attacks.This fund will prioritize projects that are women-led or have an element ofgender consciousness, and in cases where organizations are proposing actionsthat might not get funded by more mainstream sources.