ACOMUJERZA and UPAVIM exchange

Members of UPAVIM and ACOMUJERZA have the opportunity to share their knowledge.

In August 2018, members of ACOMUJERZA in El Salvador traveled to Guatemala to have an exchange with UPAVIM. Both cooperatives are members of Sister Parish Inc. and ACOMUJERZA’s partner church provided financial support for the exchange. Photos from the trip.

What did the exchange between UPAVIM and ACOMUJERZA mean?

By Rafael Carranza

To start off with, before traveling to Guatemala, I was curious to meet the people and see their facilities.

Arriving at the cooperative, I realized that their facilities are very big and very beautiful. I was surprised by the growth that they have had throughout their history as a cooperative. In comparison, at ACOMUJERZA we have a long way to go.

But then I began to realize that what makes this cooperative great is not the facilities, but the quality of the people that make up the cooperative. As the hours passed, I learned that the most important part of this experience was getting to know the hearts, sensitivity, and feelings of these people. They truly opened their heart and gave it to us with their care, their hospitality and their excellent food. I learned that as organizations, we have the same difficulties but in spite of the adversity, we have the commitment to keep fighting for real change in our lives and in our families’ lives. We also want to contribute to our society. There are no borders or definition of races that can prevent us from loving each other as human beings.

I am sure that if each of us shares these thoughts with others, we can achieve inner peace and real changes in our society.