 Our Mission
The Tamarindo Foundation, Inc. is a 501(c)(3), tax-exempt, public charity committed to serving people in need in rural El Salvador, especially disadvantaged youth, with projects in education, health, recreation, micro-business and leadership formation. The Foundation is incorporated as a non-profit in the state of Indiana. At present, the Foundation focuses its support on the work of John Guiliano, our director of operations, who has lived in El Salvador since 1984 and who is the founder of the Tamarindo Community in the village of Guarjila, population 1,647, in northern El Salvador.
How the Tamarindos got their name
The Tamarindos take their name from a native, fruit-bearing tree, the tamarind. After bombings destroyed the village in the civil war (1980-1992), these trees were the among the few things left standing. Both beautiful and hardy, they grow and bear fruit today--and still inspire the Tamarindo Community. |
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Our Roots
The Foundation organized in late 2004 to expand on the work of the El Salvador Outreach Program at St. Pius X Parish in Indianapolis, IN, begun in 1996. The Foundation now extends its support to the Tamarindo Community, a support and leadership program for boys and girls and their families; to the Ana Manganaro Medical Clinic of Guarjila; and for other projects in rural El Salvador.
Where we are in El Salavador
The Tamarindo Community lives in a small town of Guarjila, in Chalatenango province in northern El Salvador, near the Honduran border.
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Providing Opportunities,
Improving Lives in El Salvador
Jose Ambel Lopez, known as "Slick" at the Tamarindo Community, said, "Before the Tamarindo, I was in the streets, getting into trouble, smoking and trying drugs." With the help of the Tamarindo Community, he graduated from high school, becoming an example in the community.
A single mother of three, Chayo works to support her children by making pupusas,
a popular national dish, at a small restaurant near the Tamarindo Center. She and several other working mothers of the Tamarindo Community started the restaurant, and a generous donor to the Foundation helped make it possible.
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