I want to preface this by taking a moment to thank Leah Solheim of Centro de Intercambio y Solidaridad (CIS). Leah, it isn't very often you meet someone so selflessly devoted to improving the lives of others less fortunate. You are an asset not only to El Salvador but to the world, and it has been an honor working with you to offer protection to the Salvadorian women.
Over the weekend Kuros!™ has been establishing pepper spray distribution networks across El Salvador, and distributing cans to different communities across the country. Currently in the midst of an extremely violent gang situation, pepper spray distribution in El Salvador is a very delicate balancing act, and one that Kuros!™ approached very carefully. In the past few weeks, the country has seen a record setting spike in violence; seeing between 35-45 reported murders per day in a country with roughly the same population as Chicago. All this in a country where many people live on less than two dollars a day, and just getting food can prove to be a challenge.
Operating in countries like this can be extremely tricky, and is exactly why we believe that partnering with an established, local non-governmental organizations is key to being able to successfully distribute pepper spray to women in need. No one understands a countries situation better than those living there on a daily basis. CIS and Kuros!™ organized the first drop at the CIS headquarters located in the city of San Salvador. We had women representatives from different communities throughout attend our nearly hour long workshop, to discuss the idea of distributing pepper spray and get their input on it. It was an entirely new concept to almost all of the women; and when we first started there was a little hesitation, mainly from never having seen or used pepper spray before.
The new teal Kuros!™ SABRE can that we distribute around the world.
With the help of Leah's translation skills, we began by explaining to them what pepper spray is, how it is used, and when it should used. We discussed situational awareness and how to make themselves less of a target when traveling outside of their homes. We then answered any questions that arose and then had all of the women practice using training cans. They're the exact same size and firing mechanism as the pepper spray we distribute, except filled with water; giving each of the women hands on training in the arming and deployment of the pepper spray. Once they felt comfortable in the use and idea of the spray, we offered each woman a teal can of her own if she wanted. Every woman took one. Lastly, after everyone had received their pepper spray, we sat down again to foster dialogue about the problem of sexual assault and violence, particularly against women. By the end of the drop, everyone was extremely receptive to the idea of being able to defend themselves, and were interested in providing pepper spray to the girls & women in their local communities across the city.
We followed this same program of "education and empowerment" as we traveled the dirt roads out into the rural mountains outside of the city, to meet with women in Comasagua, La Libertad another community that CIS has been involved in. Again, the response was extremely positive after we had a chance to converse about pepper spray, and let them practice with it. Traveling through gang territory constantly, you begin to get an idea of what they go through on a daily basis... a large "MS13" scrawled on the front of a local school. Yet, one thing I admired most was how proud the Salvadorian women all were. While nearly all of the women expressed how difficult their lives can be at times, they were all extremely proud to be from El Salvador.
On the last day we left the city early to visit a small island just off the mainland, Isla Espiritu Santo. The island, with roughly 1,300 inhabitants is a relatively safe place. A poor island that is accessible only by small boat, its calm atmosphere is a stark juxtaposition against the violent realities of mainland El Salvador. CIS has been working on the island for some time now; while the women live their daily lives in relative peace, their problems begin when someone needs to leave the island. As one woman stated, "every time I leave, I feel as though it may be for the last time." A lot of economic and educational opportunities are passed up, as traveling back to the island at night is too dangerous, and nearly all of the women had been attacked at some point when they left for the mainland. When we asked if any of them knew about pepper spray, only one of the local women had seen pepper spray in a movie before, none of the others had ever had a chance to see it in person, and all seemed curious about it. After learning what it does and seeing how far it sprays, they were surprised and all extremely grateful. Explaining how they already feel safer knowing they have a way to protect themselves, they are working with CIS to get Kuros!™ pepper spray to all of the scholarship girls who might leave the island for schooling.
As a company, Kuros!™ grows with each and every drop that we do. We have come a long way since we started distributing pepper spray in a small village outside of Lucknow, India nearly two years ago. We are now on three different continents, distributing the very best product possible. We are partnering with the some of the best NGOs, and we are not only offering women a fighting chance through a free form protection, but also working towards fostering conversations about these issues of sexual assault and violence that are largely not talked about. The list of people I need to thank is long, but this wouldn't be possible without all of help and support from everyone who has been involved or supported this project in some way or another. I'm looking forward to continued Kuros!™ pepper spray distribution into all of our partner countries, and expanding into more in 2016!