By BALTAZAR SÁNCHEZ VENTURA
World Vision Correspondent

AHUACHAPÁN, El Salvador — In this case, World Vision beneficiaries know for certain that the chickens came before the eggs.
Donations through World Vision’s Gift Catalog are providing families in rural El Salvador with chickens.

“This small farm gives me my daily bread. Today, I am expanding, always with World Vision’s support,” said Victoria Marin, who since 2002 has been among more than 1,000 families registered in Renacer ADP, municipality of San Francisco Menéndez, department of Ahuachapán, El Salvador.

Marin, a 51-year-old tan-skinned and full-figured woman, is happy and thankful for what she believes God has given her. She said her blessings are her daughter, Maryori Membreño, 19 years old, and her grandson Walter, who is 18 months old.

“Ever since my life partner left me, I have been struggling to help my daughter, Maryori, get ahead in life,” Marin explained. “Today she is a single mother, and we are both working together in the search of better opportunities in both our lives and our little boy’s.”

Two years ago the Renacer ADP gave the family 100 chickens; metal sheets; feeders; seven quintals of bird feed; and medicine and vitamins for the care of the birds. Since then, her income and source of food has been a result of the chicken farm.

“When I didn’t have this farm, I sold candy and snacks on the streets or from door-to-door on the weekends. I sold these on the beach,” said Marin. “Thanks to God and kind-hearted people, my income is better now. I work at home by taking care of my grandson and chickens. It’s a blessing I’ve received.

“Around every six weeks I get 100 chickens, which I sell for $1.35 per pound. It’s been a while since I don’t have to offer these to people, since my neighbors come by themselves to purchase and stores ask for them directly,” she said.

In March, World Vision trained 20 people who benefited from the ADP’s economic development program. The majority were women. Marin was among them.

“What I liked about the workshop was the way it taught us how to administer a business, which motivated me to expand it,” she reported.

After the training, the program gives the new entrepreneurs the option to apply to a fund where they pay small fees with no interest.

Marin took advantage of the offer and now has 200 chickens.

“I need to take advantage of this new opportunity and grow, I have to be a good administrator in order to allocate the costs well and keep up my farm,” she added. “This is my small business; thanks to all the families in the United States for helping other families in Garita Palmera.”

Renacer ADP is located in the small town of Cara Sucia, in the municipality of San Francisco Menéndez, where 1050 families are benefited by World Vision’s Family to Family Sponsorship Program.