By Staff Sgt. Ian Shay
RANCHO SAN MARCOS, El Salvador- U.S. engineers from the 136th Engineer Company (vertical), have sharpened their construction skills by building schools here during Beyond the Horizon-El Salvador 2013. They also receive immediate gratitude from the children who will be benefiting from their work.
“It’s very rewarding. Some of the other annual trainings we have done the kids aren’t there, they don’t get to see it, we don’t get to see them see it, so we don’t see how they react,” said Spc. Jed Hutchins, a carpentry and mason engineer, 136th Engineer Company (vertical).
Here in El Salvador, Hutchins and the other engineers receive instant feedback from the schoolchildren.
“When on break, the kids from the elementary school next door come to the windows and to the actual site to talk to us and thank us for the school we are building for them,” said Hutchins.
Salvadoran soldiers on the project have their own feelings about the project.
“Pride, is the word that describes how I feel about this project,” said Salvadoran army engineer Pvt. Adelso Torres-Suriano. “I remember growing up and going to school in a very small and deteriorated building. This building is like a dream come true for students, parents and the community.”