Who are they, these risk-takers from El Salvador who step into the traditional roles of their men, bent on providing for their families as they seek financial security in the U.S...
Many individuals settle in the Washington, D.C. area where the Salvadoran community has emerged as an increasingly strong voice.
About half of all migrants coming to the states are women. Forty percent of migrants sending money home to El Salvador are women. And women are not only immigrating to support children back home or following a husband, many are now traveling alone - unattached. Only 20 percent of Salvadoran female immigrants have children in their country of origin. Part of my reporting will be to shed light on this new social pattern of women and of immigrants from El Salvador in general, and how it adds to the richness of life around the nation's capital.
Part of this story is a story of the “pobrecita,” as migrant policy expert Manuel Orozco puts it, the women who face terrifying circumstances migrating alone out of the need to feed their children. What is underreported is the number of these individuals who are taking a newfound control over their lives both in the home country and in the states. More women than men have college degrees in El Salvador, and many are in executive roles at companies and NGOs. Let's see how women use this empowered presence at home to find further opportunities once in the U.S.
I will use video, photo and radio as outlets for my stories. I will send my stories to the local NPR affiliate in Washington, D.C., VOA and NPR headquarters, as well as publishing stories for elfaro.net, a multimedia Web site In El Salvador that covers stories around Latin America.
