The Gift of Giving: Holiday Baskets in El Salvador 2023

A Holiday is an opportunity to journey within.

-PRABHAS

Growing up, I remember the excitement of receiving and opening all the gifts under the Christmas tree. As I got older, the excitement no longer came from getting gifts but from giving them to family and friends. I am comfortable saying that gift giving is one of my love languages. When I moved to El Salvador and spent my first Christmas there as an adult, I saw how Salvadorans living in rural areas celebrate- in community.

One of the quotes that stuck out to me was when the children were joking around with one another, talking about their “estrenos” – the new outfits they were saving for Christmas. Some children said their parents didn’t make enough money this year, and the only thing they would be unwrapping would be tamales. My heart shattered. I loved how they were able to joke about the situation. Still, I could put into perspective that some of these parents gave it their all year round in the corn and sugar cane fields and struggled to make ends meet. My mind went back to excitement I felt as a child, and I thought: The holiday season is a perfect time to reflect on our blessings and seek ways to make life better for those around us.

This year, thanks to the help of family, friends, and my Instagram and TikTok fam. I raised a total of $1024 and made a total of 75 baskets- that’s 15 more baskets than what was projected. I took the lessons learned from the last year and applied them to this year.

I started to look around and take note of essential food items that families would buy or try to save to buy something as simple as a big soda to share for the family had to be budgeted and rationed to last. I got a better idea when the government gave out a box with what they thought was needed. I saw and heard families selling some of the products to buy things they actually needed.

The holiday season is a perfect time to reflect on our blessings and seek ways to make life better for those around us.

Here is the list of essential food items contained within the basket: Chokomonkis/ Cornflakes cereal, Incaparina (powdered milk with added vitamins), Cooking oil, 1lb of Sugar, 1lb of Rice, 1lb of beans, 2 Spaghetti packets, 2 Chula Tomato base packets, 2 Sopas Maggis, 1 Maseca Flour for tortillas, coffee, 1 can of sardines, 1 soda, 1 pack of cookies.

I went to Usulutan to see what pre-made baskets included. To my surprise, the baskets were expensive, bulky, and contained nothing of substance. They were filled with toilet paper, paper towels, and huge bags of chips. While some of those things can be deemed essential, they did not provide products that could feed a family for at least one meal. Cue in the second idea – I went around all the grocery stores looking and comparing prices until I found the winner. GALO supermercado. They have been my go-to ever since.

My friends joined the fun as my family, and I prepared the baskets. This experience is filled with so much love. It allows for community building, and I cannot even begin to thank you all for your contribution and belief in me. To ensure that there was also a piece of each and every one of you, we created name tags so each basket had the name of the donor.

I prioritized the elderly community members, community members with mobility impairments, and those community members who do not count on the additional support of family in the States. Hearing the gratitude of the community members, seeing their smiles widen, and even sharing some tears with them reignited that passion in my soul. Curiously enough, it also brought on an epiphany where I realized I was following in my father’s footsteps and doing what he aimed to do with his friends. As soon as I processed the events, the success of this operation, and the takeaways, I sobbed with gratitude because you cannot even imagine all the hugs, tears, and thank you’s I received on your behalf.

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Thank you all for a successful Christmas baskets operation 2023. I am determined to make 2024 even better and more expansive to multiple communities. I felt the holiday spirit and was beyond blessed to support a community. Thank you for the many generous donations.

Love Always,

Analucy