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COAR Children's Village - History
COAR Children's Village was founded in 1980 by Rev. Ken Myers, a Catholic priest from Cleveland, Ohio, serving on the Cleveland Diocese Latin American mission team in Zaragoza, El Salvador.
El Salvador's civil war (1977-1992) created large numbers of refugees and orphans. On his visits to the crowded refugee camps in San Salvador in late 1979 Fr. Ken saw children with no supervision, no one to make sure they were fed, no one to make sure they had a safe place to sleep in the camps.
He decided to bring a few children back to his parish where they fixed up a spare room with triple-decker bunk beds. Sr. Dorothy Kazel, OSU, and Jean Donovan, fellow Cleveland Mission Team members at Zaragoza, helped him care for the children. A few children became 30 in a few weeks and more came every day.
Within a few months Fr. Ken realized that the need was permanent and hired a few refugee women and bought some property near-by. Earlier that same year
Monseñor Romero, Archbishop of San Salvador and an outspoken critic of the war, had been assassinated. Because of Fr. Ken's admiration for the man and his message of peace he named the growing community, Comunidad Oscar Arnulfo Romero (COAR).
Fr. Ken solicited funds to build houses for the children, a school, and a clinic and the "Children's Village" was born.
In 1982, Fr. Ken was joined by Sister Stanislaus Mackey and Sister Audrey Walsh, when the Sisters of Charity of the Incarnate Word, Houston, Texas, (CCVI) agreed to take on running the COAR Children's Village. The Sisters took on the official management of COAR for the Archdiocese of San Salvador from 1991 to 2009. Since their departure COAR has reverted to direct management by the Archdiocese.
Diocese of San Salvador. COAR is a charitable ministry of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of San Salvador. It is administered through "Caritas", the office that oversees all the charitable ministries of the Archdiocese.
Foster Care. Though the civil war ended in 1992, COAR continues to offer foster care to children of all ages whose families are disrupted by poverty. You can learn more by selecting the Sponsor a Child link below.
School. The original school has grown to serve the parish of Zaragoza. Learn more . . .
Projects - Clinic, Cafeteria, Nutrition Center, Library - and so many more. COAR's stability, dedicated staff, and fundraisers allow COAR to provide many services to the children and the entire surrounding community of Zaragoza. Learn more . . .
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COAR Peace Mission - Mission
Fr. Ken reached out to the Cleveland community to fund COAR's growing needs. In 1985 COAR Peace Mission was established as a 501(c)(3) Charitable Organization in the United States to support COAR Children's Village.
Mission Statement:
COAR Peace Mission strives to promote justice, community, and peace in El Salvador through the support of effective programs in health, education and welfare, which assist children and others, not only to develop their own full human potential, but also to contribute to the betterment of the world in which they live.
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We carry out our mission through supporting the COAR Children's Village school and its foster care facilities as well as promoting and funding projects that benefit the entire community. Please browse our menu for more details about each facet of COAR.
We arrange for (and welcome!) visitors to COAR, are happy to speak to groups, schools, and parishes, and in any other way strive to promote solidarity and understanding of the needs of the COAR Chldren's Village.
The Peace Mission's headquarters remains in Cleveland, Ohio, but COAR donors are found throughout the United States. To find out more about donating, vounteering, the Board of Trustees, or the organization of COAR Peace Mission in the United States, Contact Us.
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