The Summer 2003 Delegation to El CharcÛn:

The delegation of eight that traveled to El Salvador July 2003 was composed of two groups whose schedules occasionally overlapped. There was a youth delegation that divided its time between the capital and several rural communities. The second group, which we came to call the "camera crew," gathered film footage for a documentary on life in post-war El Salvador, with a special focus on El Charcón. This second group conducted many interviews both inside and outside the community.

Fast forwarding for moment, the resulting documentary premiered a year later at the Montreal World Film Festival. "El Pueblo Unido" has subsequently appeared at various film festivals in the US and Europe.

Getting back to the delegation, the young people traveled with Suzanne Geoghegan, a member of the BECSCP, and included Ryan DeLap (Vestal High School), Julia Lake (St.Ann's, Brooklyn) and Christine Wagner (Union-Endicott High School).



The film crew traveled with Carina Bandhauer, a former BECSCP board member now teaching sociology at Western Connecticut State University. Benefitting from Carina's knowledge were Scott Lehane, a freelance journalist, working with Toronto-based cameramen Thomas Chappel and Jurek Osterfeld.



What you will find here are two reports, one written by Suzanne about the Youth Delegation, the other written by Carina, about the her group's experiences. You will also find pieces contributed by Ryan, Christine and Julia, sharing their personal reflections on the experience.

If you would like to learn about future delegations to El Charcón, contact us