On May 26, 2009, FESA USA organized an event to discuss "The Status of Youth in El Salvador" and how we could make a positive impact on them. More than 20 invitees, community-oriented business men and women from the City of Miami-Dade attended to the session and ALL of them showed their interest in supporting the local activities.

During the event, Mr. Felix Siman III, President of FESA USA, the non-profit organization based in Miami that supports the activities of FESA in El Salvador, discussed the most current facts about the youth in El Salvador shown on reports of the United Nations.

Among some important facts presented during the meeting were:

- 36.8% of the population between 15-19 has middle school only.

- 50.3% had access to drugs and alcohol.

- 34.1% witnessed gang problems in their neighborhoods.

- 89.0% experienced some form of domestic violence among this range of age.

- An estimate between 10,500 - 39,000 gang members.

- Youth gangs are targeting younger students as nine years old.

- Typical age of entry to these gangs has gone down from 14 to 12 years old.

- A program to improve youth competence produce 24.3% increase in employability skills.

Due these facts, the FESA model has worked hard to create an environment for the students where more than 100 scholarships are awarded per year to provide the young participants with a different option to succeed in their life.

Mr. Jorge Bahaia, President of FESA El Salvador moved the attendees with two success stories of young athletes sponsored by the organization. One of these kids - Cristiam - had seen his mother for the last time when he was only 5 years old. The day his father was killed, his mother decided to move to the U.S. and left Cristiam with relatives in El Salvador. After 10 years they were reunited during the Dallas Cup 2008, a tournament where FESA participated with its U-15 team. The reunion was very cold at the beginning but it turned very warm and full of emotions after Mr. Bahaia talked to him about the value of the sacrifice his mother had made for him during all those years. This type of counseling  is done everyday not only by the FESA directors and the staff but by experts to make the future of the FESA students more attainable.

The event ended with an exquisite selection of hors d'oeuvres sponsored by Intradeco Apparel.