When neighbors are elected to their community governing council, many do not have previous experience in developing the kinds of projects their community needs – even when they have excellent ideas. Our Salvadoran staff facilitates planning meetings for community leaders and provides training as part of our CODECO (Construyendo el Desarrollo Comunitario) program. Through CODECO, community leaders learn to:
- Identify the community priorities by conducting needs assessments,
- Plan projects, prepare budgets, develop grant proposals,
- Prepare for delegations
- Organize community volunteers,
- Participate in regular meetings where they share and support new ideas,
- Host an IP delegation which funds and helps implement the project.