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CISNA Computer Project

We are really excited about a new project that we have in the works! One of the places where we are involved with kids at risk is in the boys’ state-run orphanage called CISNA. This is a boys’ center run by the government. The boys who live here come from some rough family backgrounds. Their parents have died, have abandoned them, or are in jail. They don’t have much to call their own…just the clothes on their backs, and the mattresses (usually without sheets or a pillow) where they sleep.

They go to school, but many of them drop out or really aren’t interested in doing their best. They lack motivation to receive an education and there is really no one interested in motivating them.

Many of these boys have lived in the “system” for years, and have spent a childhood being institutionalized. As a result, they don’t have a good understanding of how the world really works, they don’t have an idea of healthy family, and there is much physical and sexual abuse that occurs between the boys.

At the age of 18, their time living in the government system comes to an end and they are on their own. They often have not completed their education at this time so they really have no life skills to aid them in finding a job, and they really have no family to guide their steps.

We want to help these boys. When God moved our hearts to come to El Salvador, we knew He was leading us towards the fatherless youth…those who are most at risk for eventually living in poverty, or following a path of violence by joining a criminal street gang.

The boys at CISNA are children at risk.  Their future does not look promising. Because of the relationships that we have established at CISNA, the director has asked us to do more for the boys. Right now we have an open door to help them.

We are going to be doing classes with the boys two days a week. We will be doing theater classes with them taught by a professional actor who has worked with YWAM El Salvador in the past. We will also be doing computer classes. Jon will be organizing these classes as well as teaching a majority of the curriculum. As part of the class, the director has asked us to also share our own faith with the boys. This is exciting! We were asked by a governement center to share with the boys about what Jesus has done in our lives, as well as teach them from the Bible!

These classes are really going to help the boys in three distinct ways. First, they will hear about God. We have an open forum to discuss who God is and to share how much God cares about them. Second, our relationships with the kids will continue to grow. Since we will be interacting with them three days a week, we will be able to continue to develop relationships that have already begun. Third, the boys will be learning a life-skill that can aid them when they leave the ISNA system. They have something to offer future employers.

In order to run the computer classes, we need to have a computer lab! The government does not have the funding to provide CISNA with computers. So, we have committed to raising the funds and purchasing the computers in order to help these boys. We do not want to miss this open-door opportunity that we have right now!

But we need your help.

The computers that are the best price, and the most suitable to learning cost $350 each. We need 10 computers to outfit the lab in a way effective for the class. We are looking for partners to help us raise the needed funds to help these boys.

Would you consider buying a computer for CISNA?

If you would like to help invest in the future of the CISNA boys, please contact us and we can help you do just that. We would love to partner with you to bring a better future to the at-risk children of El Salvador. We are looking for individuals, schools, churches, or businesses interested in helping with the computer lab.

If you would like to partner with us, we want to talk to you today! Jon is heading up this project, so contact him at jon@jonsnyder.com. We’d love to talk more about CISNA with you!

2 Responses to CISNA Computer Project

  1. Oh this is funny. We just sent you a gift from our (very blessed) blog/company (for which we make heavy use of our computers, of course!)… please feel free to buy a few for this program for the CISNA boys with it! It lines right up with how we run our business, and we would love to support little Salvadoran computer-entrepreneurs!

  2. Haha…great timing! Thanks! We will definitely use it for the CISNA boys! Jon is so excited about teaching this class because he gets to be in touch with his inner computer geek!In our “previous life” he worked in IT so this is actually working out perfectly to work with the boys and with computers.

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