Program Visit – February 2-7, 2025

El Salvador has been marked by decades of violence, impunity, frequent and worsening natural disasters and the negative impact of COVID-19 pandemic and the conflict in Ukraine impacting the economy, where food prices continue to rise and recovery is slow. As a result of climate shocks, food insecurity and the economic crisis, Salvadoran people face different humanitarian challenges. Women, children and the LGBTQ+ community are the ones most at risk, especially of gender-based violence. Central America, including El Salvador continue to push factors for displacement, where long term investments are needed to adequately address the root drivers and respond to the immediate needs that people in displacement are experiencing.

In the United States, the IRC provides opportunities for refugees, asylees, victims of human trafficking and other migrants to thrive in America, where each year, thousands are forced to flee violence and persecution. The IRC opened its doors in San Diego in 1975 to provide supportive services to an influx of more than 30,000 forcibly displaced individuals and families from Vietnam and have since built a coordinated range of programs supporting over 6,490 people annually.

The IRC worked in El Salvador from 1984 to 1992 and began responding again to the growing humanitarian crisis in 2017. In the past years, IRC in El Salvador has reached more than 1 million people, and together with partners, we serve individuals and families in need of aid and increased risk of displacement. We support internally displaced people; returnees, and women, girls and youth and members of the LGBTQ+ community who are survivors of gender-based violence.

Economic Recovery and Development

Through multipurpose cash assistance, we support families in need to help them cover their immediate needs such as food and shelter. 3,382 families have received multi-purpose cash assistance to cover immediate needs.

Child Protection

IRC offers care-givers in violent contexts effective services that raise awareness, support care-givers as well as case management for children who experience family separation, violence, exploitation abuse and neglect. 1,181 caregivers improved their abilities to provide positive parenting support.

Women's Protection and Empowerment

IRC supports gender-based violence survivors through case management and the creation of specialty safe spaces, where people can be referred to vital services such as economic and legal support, health care, education, childcare and more. The response also focuses on child protection by offering caregivers in violent contexts support that raises awareness, as well as case management for children who experience family separation, violence, exploitation, abuse and neglect.

Education and Evidence-based Violence Prevention

The IRC implements Research in Education for Transformative Opportunities (RETO), which identifies and transforms violence prevention evidence into actionable and scalable methodologies for key education stakeholders.

Access to Information and Services

Through CuéntaNos, the IRC promotes access to reliable information and mapping of trustworthy service providers. CuéntaNos – part of the global Signpost project – is an online information platform created by IRC that leverages social media to offer information, a map of verified services, and direct referrals via a helpline for persons in crisis. People experiencing violence and disaster search to find verified shelter and protection services and speak to trained helpline moderator to coordinate and answer questions.

IRC’s Resettlement, Asylum, and Integration (RAI) program in San Diego, California has since 1975 welcomed hundreds of newly arrived refugees from places like Syria, Afghanistan, Iraq, Myanmar the Democratic Republic of Congo and have resettled over 30,500 refugees from 29 countries to date. 

Immigration

No-cost and low-cost quality services for refugees asylees, Dreamers, and other immigrant communities across San Diego County including:

• Legal services
• Citizenship and interview preparation
• Outreach programming

Youth Programs

Community, skill and leadership building for refugees and immigrant youth including:

• REACH (Refugee Education, Acculturation, Civic Engagement and Health) Program
• Higher Education Financial Literacy Program
• Intergenerational Education Programs

Center For Financial Opportunity 

The Center for Financial Opportunity provides comprehensive services to help clients achieve self-sufficiency and economic mobility.

•    Workforce and Integration: Assists clients in securing their first U.S. job through job readiness training, coaching, placement services, and financial education focused on budgeting, credit building, and asset growth, with specialized support for women.
•    Education and Training: Offers vocational ESL, digital literacy, and career advancement services to enhance critical skills.
•    Small Business Development: Supports clients in starting or strengthening businesses through training, technical assistance, and access to capital. 

Resettlement 

Supports newly arrived refugees with initial services to integrate into their new communities with housing, furnishing, community orientation and assistance to essential services including:

• Refugee Resettlement and Placement Program Services
• Refugee Health Promotion Project

Safety and Wellness

The Safety and Wellness Program offers intensive case management and support services tailored to asylum seekers, new arrivals, and non-refugee communities, focusing on culturally relevant food access and women’s empowerment.

•  Case Management: Provides tailored case management for new arrivals for up to 8 months covering benefits enrollment, healthcare and housing navigation, and mental health resources.  
•  RIPE Food Pantry: Provides culturally preferred foods for IRC clients using a monthly shopping model. 
•  Women’s Resilience Center: A collaborative, supportive space for refugee and immigrant women to build friendships and access support groups, wellness workshops, financial wellness guidance, and weekly movement sessions. 

Note: There’s a possibility to sign up for San Diego or El Salvador portion of trips only. Please select the preferred option when registering. 

For portions of this itinerary, the group will be split into two groups to accommodate small spaces and ease client accessibility. This itinerary is subject to changes due to circumstances out of our control.

Day 1: Arrival: Sunday Feb 2^nd

• Arrival in San Diego 
• Dinner with those who arrived 

 Day 2: San Diego - Monday, Feb 3^rd

• Travel to IRC Office in El Cajon
• Breakfast and office overview
• Meet program managers and staff of Resettlement, Center for Financial Opportunity, Immigration, Safety and Wellness Programs, Women’s resilience center
• Lunch at refugee-owned business
• Site visit to 2 refugee owned businesses

Day 3: Travel day to El Salvador (please note lunch is not included on this day) - Tuesday, Feb 4^th

• External flight to San Salvador
• Arrival to San Salvador check-in Hotel Sheraton Presidente
• Informal Dinner with HQ Staff at Hotel

Day 4 - El Salvador: Wednesday, Feb 5^th

• Meeting with IRC Staff
• UNHCR mobile unit Presentation and Visit
• Lunch
• IRC Office Tour
• Tour of the Support Spaces San Salvador 
• Dinner

Day 5: El Salvador - Thursday, Feb 6th

• CuentaNos Awareness Presentation
• Lunch
• Multipurpose Cash Clients: Focus Group Consultation
• LGBTQI+ Safe Space Conversation
• Dinner

Day 6: El Salvador - Friday, Feb 7th

• Friendly Safe Space in Santa Ana
• Lunch
• Information Session El Congo
• Farewell Dinner

Day 7: Departure - Saturday, Feb 8^th

The physical intensity level for this visit is moderate, expect an average level of walking and standing. Programs require significant travel by land and air. 

Full Trip: $3,500 USD

El Salvador (only): $1,500 USD

San Diego (only): $2,000 USD

Your registration, including a non-refundable deposit, reserves your spot and commits you to the trip if it moves forward.

The trip fee covers: 

• Three meals per day (excluding travel days), accommodations, road travel, permits, and entrance fees
• Pre-departure support
• In country-office IRC administrative costs.

NOTES:

• Air travel to and from the region(s) are not included in the above fee. A non-refundable deposit of $500 USD is required to reserve a spot on this visit. 
• An entry visa-fee to El Salvador ($12 USD) needs to be paid by guest on arrival at airport. 

What is a delegation visit?

Donor Delegation Trips are quarterly pre-planned, fee-based group trips of 5 to 10 participants to destinations prioritized based on funding needs and accessibility.

What is IRC’s COVID-19 policy regarding the delegation visit?

IRC puts forth the greatest possible effort to provide a safe and secure operational environment. However, given the nature of our work, participants on the trip may be exposed to healthcare risks, including but not limited to the risk of communicable diseases such as COVID-19. While IRC communicates and expects all operating partners to comply with and encourage appropriate safeguarding measures, the risk of COVID-19 and other potentially infectious diseases still exists. Visitors are required to review the medical guidelines that are provided by IRC prior to participating in the trip and to carefully consider them as they relate to your own medical profile and medical risk tolerance levels.

Can I bring my spouse or child(ren) on the delegation visit?

Because we are limited in the number of trip participants, we prefer to have each participant slot taken by representatives of different giving vehicles in order to maximize the impact of the delegation visit for IRC’s funding needs. After the visit, a trip summary, as well as photos and videos from the visit will be shared with all trip participants, which can then be shared with family, friends, and stakeholders of foundations and partners.

IRC cannot host children on our program visits because our Safety and Security measures are not designed with children in mind, and cannot reasonably be adapted to ensure children’s safety.

What happens after I register? 

Immediately after you register, you will receive an email from the IRC's Program Visits team. This will be your primary contact for trip-related questions or concerns in advance of the visit. Before the visit, you will receive many resources to support your preparation process (see the response to the question below “Are there resources to help me prepare for the upcoming visit?”)

I would like to see specific a program during the delegation visit — can you help coordinate that?

Trip registrants should assume that the itinerary shared with their invitation is the itinerary for their visit, for all intents and purposes. The itinerary is shared at this stage to help set expectations around the locations and program types to be seen, and the pace of the visit. Making changes to meet the interests of individual participants will make it impossible to set realistic expectations.

That said, the itinerary distributed with the invitation is tentative and subject to changes at any time due to circumstances out of our control, such as weather, politics or safety. The itinerary is designed by the hosting country and program teams based on accessibility of programs and priority of funding needs, with the objective of showing as many program highlights as possible.

We aim to avoid having idle time, ensure travel routes are safe and destinations are secure, and recommend flight arrival and departure windows to ensure the best experience.

Are there resources to help me prepare for the upcoming visit?

Immediately after you register for your trip, you will be contacted by the Program Visits team. This will be your primary contact and provide any support you will need in advance of the visit, such as visa invitation letters, flight recommendations, and itinerary updates. Several weeks before your trip, you will receive a Pre-departure Briefing containing history of the regional crisis and IRC’s response efforts, IRC emergency contact information, packing list, safety precautions and cultural norms to be aware of, IRC reports and information sheets, as well as additional recommended readings. Several days before your trip, you will participate in a mandatory Safety and Security briefing with the Program Visits team and the local Security officer from the region you will be visiting.

Can you accommodate dietary restrictions?

During the registration process, we ask about any dietary restrictions or preferences. Within reason, most dietary needs can be accommodated during delegation trips and if for some reason this is impossible, the registrant will be notified in advance of the trip. Because IRC operates in many remote locations, there will likely be limited options for meal alternatives at some points during the trip, and therefore it is important to be prepared for the likelihood of meal repetition.

What is your cancellation and refund policy?

How to cancel: If you would like to cancel your participation in the trip, contact Program.Visits@rescue.org. In your email, please indicate whether you would like a partial refund (see below for our refund policy) or prefer to donate your trip fee. In the case of a cancellation, the non-refundable deposit, and any additional donated portion of the trip fee, will be used as a donation to the hosting IRC country office and a thank you letter and tax receipt will be emailed to the cancelled registrant.

Refund policy: In order to register for the trip, a non-refundable deposit is required. This amount is different for each trip and can be found on the trip invitation and registration page. The deposit cannot be refunded for any reason, other than IRC has cancelled or postponed the trip. The remaining balance of the trip fee may be refunded if the registrant cancels more than 45 days prior to the trip arrival date. Within 45 days of the trip, IRC may have already incurred expenses related to domestic air and land travel, accommodations, and other non-cancellable charges, which the registrant may be held responsible for. Any refunds will be applied back to the credit card used to pay for the trip fee.

 When would IRC cancel a donor delegation program visit?

IRC will cancel a donor delegation program visit if the number of registrants does not meet the threshold for covering trip costs and allowing for a minimum donation size to the hosting country program. A visit may also be canceled due to unforeseen circumstances related to safety, or changes in the hosting country program staff capacity.

How many spots are available?

There are 8 spots available for this visit on a first come, first served basis. When the trip is full, a waitlist will open.

Recommended Flight

If traveling from San Diego, we recommend you take this flight. If coming from elsewhere,
please plan to meet the group to catch this flight from San Diego to El Salvador. If you prefer to return
home on Friday, February 7th, please plan to depart after 7:00pm local time so as not to miss any
portion of the planned itinerary. If planning to take any other flights, please send your proposed
flight plan to Program Visits before booking for confirmation that you can be picked up. Once you
purchase your flights, please forward the full flight confirmation email to Program Visits.

Entry Visas

An entry-visa fee of $12 USD to El Salvador is payable on arrival. You must hold a valid passport
for at least 6 months to enter El Salvador. 89 countries are exempt from any pre-arrival visa
requirements, please check if your nationality is not exempt. If so, please don’t hesitate to contact
us As soon as possible to get your visa-authorized.

Health

Please review all health recommendations from the CDC travel sites for El Salvador several
weeks before travel. While traveling and in situations where social distancing is not possible, IRC
strongly recommends wearing a face mask to protect each other, especially our clients, and
utilizing ventilation by opening windows where possible. Please follow the guidance of IRC staff.

Safety and Security

Please read the Safety & Security Pre-Arrival Briefing in detail in advance of your visit.
There will be a mandatory Safety and Security Briefing Call held in the weeks leading up to
the visit. Here is the tentative agenda for that call for your reference, your availability will be
requested in order to ensure you can join.

IRC San Salvador Office Address: Av. La Capilla #411, San Salvador, El Salvador

IRC Staff Contacts:

Meg Galas - Country Director
(503) 78733701

Ana Milena Guerrero - Deputy Director of Operations 
(503) 61984619

Zuleyma Chahin - Deputy Director of Programs
(503) 72104290

Carlos Escalante - Safety and Security Coordinator 
(503) 78944925

In case of emergency, dial 911

San Salvador Hospitals
Hospital Centro de Emergencias

Colonia Medica, diagonal Dr. Luis Edmundo Vasquez No. 250, San Salvador
+503 2530 3333

Hospital Nacional San Rafael
4a. Calle Oriente, #9-2, Santa Tecla, La Libertad

+503 2594 4000

IRC San Diego, CA Office Address: 131 E Main Street, 2^nd Floor, El Cajon, CA

IRC Staff Contacts:

Sharon Kennedy - Executive Director
Cell: 602-384-4992
Email: Sharon.Kennedy@Rescue.org

Mitch Johnson - Deputy Director, Economic Empowerment
Deputy Director, Economic Empowerment
Cell: 917-420-0773
Email: Mitch.Johnson@Rescue.org

In case of emergency, dial 911

List of hospitals in San Diego, CA

The IRC is an organization that works closely and regularly with people affected by crisis and conflict. The IRC commits to protecting the dignity, confidentiality, and safety of our clients. As partners and guests of the IRC, we thank you in advance for following these guidelines.

1. Please take time to reflect on your biases and assumptions, and how one's personal background and identity can be perceived by others. Be prepared to adapt your preferred communication style or behavior to what is appropriate and effective on site. Remember to read and adhere to IRC’s Social Media Guidelines and Gift Policy.

2. Please make all efforts to minimize the risk of harm to clients, especially child clients, by following the ‘do-no-harm’ principles.

3. There will be time and space to ask clients questions.

• Approach client interaction with an open mind and genuine curiosity. Refrain from giving your personal opinion or proposing solutions directly to clients. Programme ideas can be discussed with the IRC staff accompanying your visit.
• Please focus your questions for clients on their impressions and experiences with IRC’s work and keep them open-ended. Personal, political, or sensitive questions can bring up trauma and lead to a client’s discomfort or mistrust of the IRC.
• Do not focus your questions on clients’ vulnerabilities. Instead, highlight affirming experiences and success stories. Please remember that clients are resilient and have many strengths.
• Be aware of gender dynamics, especially when interacting with clients of a different gender.

4. Do be mindful and respectful of staff and clients’ time during the visit, noting that if you spend more time on a specific project, you might miss the next activity on your schedule where staff and/or clients are waiting for you.

This checklist will help you decide what to pack for your program visit. 

• Valid passport & domestic flight tickets  
• Visa documentation (if applicable)  
• Pen (for filling out forms in the airport)  
• COVID-19 vaccine card  
• COVID-19 face masks  
• Hand sanitizer  
• Insect repellent  
• Warm/Modest clothing 
• Comfortable, closed-toe shoes 
• Light scarf (for head covering and dust) 
• Rain Jacket 
• Sunscreen  
• Sunglasses  
• Prescription medications for the length of your stay (in original packaging with labels)  
• Personal toiletries  
• Universal travel adapter
• Smaller day bag (lightweight backpack or tote)  
• Snacks (granola bars, nuts, etc.) for between meals  
• Reusable water bottle  
• Basic first aid kit  
• Motion sickness relief  
• Entertainment (books, music, etc.)  

IRC El Salvador

Factsheets and Reports

Women, Protection and Empowerment

CuentaNos

North Central America

IRC San Diego, CA

Impact snapshot Immigration 2023

Info Sheet – Immigration Services

Impact Report RAI San Diego

RAI San Diego Gender Analysis Report