A trip to El Salvador invariably means long hours sitting in the passenger’s seat of Walter’s truck, so naturally I use it as an opportunity to really dig deep into what is going on with TLAU’s Salvadoran operations.  As we talked about the scholarship program, which now sponsors seven high school students and three university students, Walter commented on a common mistake made by many non-profits and charitable organizations: slowly degenerating into a simple reservoir of handouts, thereby greatly diminishing the value and power of the donor’s dollar.  It works like this: If a donor makes a contribution to TLAU and we in turn give it to a student and do nothing else, even if it is in the form of books, tuition, or transportation, that’s all the charitable donation will bring: a book, a semester of school, or a ride on the bus.  Such a transaction also seems to strip the donation of much of its force as a moral statement, leaving it as a bare lump sum of cash.  However, if TLAU takes a donation and gives it to a student with the condition or understanding that that student will use his or her gift to help someone in a similar situation, the power of that donation or act of charity is greatly amplified.  For not only does the student receive an education and hope for a better future, but that same gift is in turn given to another, and the initial act of charity on the part of the donor reverberates as an act of love should.  It’s actually a very simple concept that got me looking for the translation of “chain” and “web” in my Spanish dictionary as I sat in Walter’s truck, and I’m sure you’ve seen it played out or elaborated in other ways, such as the saying “teach a man to fish…” or in that movie Pay it Forward (which I found a little too saccharine).

So what we’re planning to do is to add another prerequisite for TLAU aid, namely a promise before God made by the student that one day, when they have work and a steady income on account of their education, they will support another (a family member would be ideal) in the same way.  It is just a promise, which I agree probably doesn’t amount to much in our circles.  But I will vouch for the character of the TLAU becados and say that things work differently down there.  It may take them a while to get around to it, and they may not do things like Americans do, but they will keep their promise.

So hopefully I have added to the list of reasons to donate to TLAU.