“When we came in we thought we were going to change the world, we thought we were going to change El Salvador, and you know what? That doesn’t happen; El Salvador changed us.”

— Jon Snyder

Location: San Salvador, El Salvador
Date: Thursday, December 21st 2019
Company: Mission To El Salvador
Role: Co-Founders

El Salvador is a country with many challenges. Following a brutal 12-year civil war, the country has struggled to break free from corruption, crime and the control that the gangs have over the country.

There are few places on earth more dangerous than El Salvador, but in 2009 Danielle and Jon Snyder decided to up roots and move themselves and their two children to the capital San Salvador. They have since dedicated their lives to helping vulnerable members of the community through their organisation Mission to El Salvador.

What started as Danielle and Jon spending their evenings out on the streets, looking for people to help, has now grown into an organisation with a full team of Salvadoran professionals looking to support:
- Individuals and families confronting homelessness and extreme poverty
- Individuals struggling with substance abuse issues
- Individuals who have recently returned from the U.S
- Women that have been victims of human trafficking and/or commercial sexual exploitation

They are working to change the lives of these people through several programmes:
- The Lighthouse Resource Center: connecting vulnerable members of their community with resources that help them to grow.
- New Dawn Residential Programme: a holistic residential treatment program designed to specifically meet the unique needs of children between the ages of 10 and 17 who struggle with addiction.
- Community Outreach: a weekly food outreach to identify those who are vulnerable to exploitation and addiction issues.
- Substance Abuse Prevention: therapists and addiction specialists dedicated to preventing addiction among El Salvador's youth.

In this interview, I spoke with Jon and Danielle to hear how they were drawn to move their two young children to one of the world's most violent countries and found Mission to El Salvador.

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Timestamps:
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