The Boomerang Box had a complicated, intermodal journey between the United States and El Salvador:

• The Boomerang Box left the port at Kearny, New Jersey by train.
• It traveled by train south to Miami, Florida.
• In Miami, it was loaded aboard a ship and traveled to Puerto Barrios, Guatemala.
• After arriving in Guatemala, the Boomerang Box was transferred to a truck and driven to San Salvador, El Salvador.

That was quite a journey! Now, how did you do on deciphering the Great Toy Challenge Clues?

Clue 1: I am located in the Torrid Zone. If you looked this term up in an encyclopedia or dictionary, you learned that the Torrid Zone is the region that stretches between longitudes 23º27' north and south of the equator. The word 'torrid' means parched with the heat of the sun, intensely hot, scorching, or burning. It makes sense that the area of the earth closest to the equator should be called the Torrid Zone, doesn't it? If you marked a globe or world map to show the Torrid Zone, you could create a list of countries in that zone. How many countries did you identify?

Clue 2: I have a Pacific Coast. On your list of Torrid Zone countries, you could then check off all those with a coast on the Pacific Ocean. How many countries did you have on your list then?

Clue 3: The land beneath me never rests. I have many earthquakes and volcanoes. To decipher this clue, you needed to use an encyclopedia. By looking up each of the countries on your list, you could identify those with volcanoes and earthquakes.

Clue 4: Spanish explorers called me 'the savior.' They came looking for gold. An encyclopedia or your knowledge of Spanish could help you with this clue. 'The savior' in Spanish means 'El Salvador,' the name of our mystery country!

We talked about the history and geology of El Salvador a few weeks ago. But what's been going on there recently? And why do children there need the toys and educational supplies the Boomerang Box is carrying?

The people of El Salvador are still recovering from a civil war that lasted from 1979 to 1992. During the war, many people fled for safety, leaving their homes and farms behind. Life in El Salvador was disrupted even more by an earthquake in 1986 that destroyed much of the capital city, San Salvador.

Since peace was declared in El Salvador in 1992, people have been moving back into their towns and villages and putting their lives back together. But several natural disasters since then have made life difficult. Flooding caused by Hurricane Mitch in 1998 forced many people to leave their homes. And two earthquakes earlier this year - in January and February 2001 - destroyed homes, schools, and roads.

The people of El Salvador are rebuilding, though, with help from organizations such as CARE. CARE is helping provide clean water systems and better medical care in El Salvador. It is helping farmers learn better farming methods. It is helping people recover from flooding and landslides and build new homes, schools, and community centers. CARE will use the toys from the Great Toy Project in schools and community centers around the country, helping children who may have lost their favorite possessions in the flood or the earthquakes.

The people of El Salvador are very hopeful about the future. In honor of their major crop - coffee - they have created a National Coffee Park, to show the world how coffee can be grown in a way that is good for the environment and for farmers. They will continue to work with CARE and other relief organizations from around the world to make their country strong and healthy again.

Check out past Trade Topics entries!