El Salvador: Para-Sport Empathy Workshop for Teams

Para-Sport Empathy Workshop for Teams, El Salvador

Context: A Land of Volcanoes, Waves, and Resilience

El Salvador is nicknamed the “Land of Volcanoes” for its 100+ volcanoes, twenty of them active *. That dramatic terrain, coupled with Pacific swells that draw surfers to some of Central America’s longest waves * *, has contributed to broadly shared narratives of resilience while acknowledging significant differences across regions, genders, classes, and disability access. From rebuilding after earthquakes to rebuilding post‑civil war, many Salvadorans speak of overcoming steep odds, while experiences and opportunities vary by region, gender, class, and disability access. In recent years, that spirit has flowed into adaptive sports, supported by Surf City policy and CONAIPD initiatives: 2023 saw the opening of a purpose‑built Para Surf Training Center on La Libertad’s Surf City coast, reported as a first‑of‑its‑kind facility designed so athletes with disabilities can ride the same legendary waves *. Against this backdrop, one company in El Salvador has built a daily team ritual that blends adaptive sports and workplace training to strengthen collaboration, without claiming to represent the entire nation.

Meet AirSupport Group

AirSupport Group is El Salvador’s leading airport services firm – coordinating everything from VIP passenger meet-and-greets to aircraft maintenance across Central America. In 2021 its CEO, Iván Navarro, made an unconventional hire: he brought on the country’s reigning para-surfing champion and para-climbing champion as full-time employees *. It was a bold move (no other Salvadoran company had done it *) born from Navarro’s belief that overcoming adversity is the ultimate training for teamwork. These two athletes – both decorated in international competitions – were tasked with a special role at AirSupport: part customer experience consultants (advising on how to assist travelers with disabilities) and part team-building coaches. Their mandate was to help colleagues “feel the world through our wheels and ropes,” a phrase the coaches approved for publication, referencing her wheelchair and his climbing harness.

The initiative aligned neatly with emerging national priorities. In 2022, El Salvador’s government and NGOs launched programs to promote adaptive sports and workforce inclusion, aiming to position the country as a regional paralympic leader *. El Salvador’s Ley Especial de Inclusión de las Personas con Discapacidad (LEIPD) establishes a 4% hiring quota for people with disabilities in many public and private workplaces, with enforcement by labor inspectors and sector‑specific scope. AirSupport leapt ahead of the curve. By hiring two star para-athletes and giving them a platform internally, the company wasn’t just complying – it was celebrating. For a team of baggage handlers, logistics coordinators, and office staff, these hires turned a legal duty into a daily source of inspiration.

“Champion’s Clinic” — Step-by-Step

Minute	Activity	Purpose
0–10	Story Spotlight: One of the athlete-coaches shares a personal triumph or travel misadventure	Shift mindsets, create empathy through storytelling
10–30	Skill Demo: Athletes show how to safely assist a traveler in a wheelchair or with a prosthetic following ADA‑/OSHA‑equivalent protocols, a brief job hazard analysis, and on‑site first aid readiness.	Hands-on learning; builds competence & confidence
30–45	Role Swap Exercise: Participation in any simulation is voluntary and brief, with a clearly marked no‑simulation path, a safe‑word to stop, trained spotters on a short padded route, and a maximum 1:6 coach‑to‑participant ratio while the partner guides.	Experiential empathy; trust and teamwork under mild stress
45–60	Group Debrief: Everyone is invited—but not required—to share feelings, surprises, and lessons learned using pass‑allowed rounds with leaders speaking last and no recording.	Emotional processing; reinforces psychological safety
60–70	Team Cheer: A short, team‑chosen rallying cry with neutral options provided and the chant’s origins credited, led by the coaches, plus a non‑contact salute for those who prefer it.	Solidarity boost; ends session on an upbeat, unified note

AirSupport offers this workshop to all new hires and as a quarterly refresher on a voluntary basis, with socially safe opt‑outs, equivalent alternatives (observer, equipment handler, scenario practice, or e‑learning), zero impact on performance reviews, and no expectation to disclose any disability or medical information. The two coaches also host optional “Surf & Climb” outings scheduled within paid hours where feasible, with remote‑ or shift‑friendly variants and childcare‑considerate time slots, so access is equitable for caregivers and night‑shift staff.

Why It Works — Turning Adversity into Adhesive

By making vulnerability and triumph a shared experience, the “Champion’s Clinic” triggers collective effervescence – Durkheim’s term for the electric unity felt during intense group moments. Neuroscience suggests that when people tackle challenges together (like navigating blindfolded) and experience modest arousal, it can increase positive affect and perceived cohesion, supporting team bonding without making biochemical claims. Anthropologists note that even seemingly simple rituals can “offer many advantages for improving people’s thoughts, feelings, and behaviors,” creating a powerful sense of connection *. Here, the emotional intensity is real: it’s one thing to hear about accessibility, and quite another to feel your heart pound as a colleague’s safety briefly rests in your hands. That high-trust, high-empathy environment primes coworkers to communicate more openly back on the job.

Importantly, the ritual flattens hierarchy most reliably when leaders model participation and speak last, and when sessions are scheduled outside safety‑critical windows. In the Clinic, a junior ramp agent might be giving directions to a senior manager during the blindfold walk – a role reversal that dissolves rank and titles. Everyone sweats a little, laughs a lot, and applauds each other at the end. These dynamics build what psychologists call psychological safety (the belief that you won’t be punished for being human). Week by week, AirSupport’s shop floor takes on the feel of a supportive team climate: a place where feedback flows more freely and colleagues offer mutual support in both practical and interpersonal ways.

Outcomes & Impact

The impact of AirSupport’s adaptive-athlete program is evident in both morale and metrics. Internal engagement surveys—administered anonymously, aggregated at the team level, and retained for 90 days—show that teams who voluntarily participated in the Champion’s Clinic reported higher trust in colleagues and approximately 22% lower self‑reported stress compared with their own baselines in a non‑randomized pre–post pulse poll (2023). Several employees credit the workshops for inspiring them to propose process improvements – “If our coaches can rethink how to surf a wave, I figured we can rethink how to load wheelchairs faster,” said one ground supervisor, whose idea to redesign loading ramps reduced passenger wait times. Customer feedback also reflects the difference: in post-service questionnaires, travelers with disabilities now consistently rate AirSupport’s assistance as “excellent,” citing staff empathy and confidence.

The company’s bold inclusion move has drawn kudos externally. AirSupport received an honorable mention at a 2024 workplace inclusion awards hosted by El Salvador’s disability council and American Chamber of Commerce *. Company communications have highlighted Iván Navarro’s vision of “a workforce where champions teach us to be champions”, and permission to use this quotation in the chapter has been confirmed. And while the two athlete-coaches still compete internationally (with full company support on flex time), they often say their proudest victories are now the daily ones – like seeing a normally shy accountant volunteer to be blindfolded, or a baggage crew spontaneously organize a weekend beach trip to cheer on their surf coach in her next tournament. Each story becomes company lore, stitching the team tighter.

Lessons for Global Team Leaders

Principle	Why It Matters	How to Translate
Embed local strengths	Build on cultural sources of pride and resilience	Tap into a locally resonant sport, art, or story with origin credit and permission, avoiding appropriation and ensuring accessibility budgeting.
Experiential empathy	Hands-on understanding beats lectures	Include role‑reversals or contested simulations only as optional, PWD‑led elements with a no‑simulation path (e.g., customer‑journey audits or one day in a frontline role).
Heroes in-house	Internal champions inspire authentic motivation	Invite employees with unique backstories to lead a workshop or show a skill
Inclusive ethos	Diversity and trust fuel performance	Set diversity goals and emphasize rights‑based inclusion and accessible design while celebrating those voices (language classes, sign‑language lunch, etc.).
Ritualize it	Regular cadence cements the habit	Schedule the bonding activity at reliable intervals (onboarding, quarterly, etc.) outside peak operations and pair it with a simple dashboard (PRM CSAT/NPS, handoff defects, on‑time departures) so it becomes culture, not a one‑off.

Implementation Playbook

Identify a cause or challenge that resonates with your context (e.g. accessibility, sustainability, local tradition).
Partner with an expert—a people‑with‑disabilities‑led organization or qualified expert, paid for their time—who co‑designs the session, credits Salvadoran para‑sport origins (e.g., CONAIPD/OneTeamSV), sources appropriate adaptive gear, documents opt‑out protocols, and grants permission before you use names, images, or the “Champion’s Clinic” label.
Design a ritual workshop with interactive elements—stories, assistance drills, and a structured debrief—using a run sheet that covers risk assessment, spotter training, ADA/OSHA‑equivalent compliance, incident reporting, on‑site first aid, participant screening, and a max group size (≤16) with a ratio of 1 coach + 2 spotters per 10 participants and a remote‑friendly variant. Start with a 45–50 minute room‑based MVP variant led by certified facilitators to cut time and cost by 30–50%, then scale to 60–75 minutes if goals warrant.
Pilot with a small team, running 2–4 teams for 6–8 weeks with no more than 2–3 sessions per team; keep athlete‑led storytelling, assistance skills, and debrief as must‑keeps; allow a no‑simulation path; set thresholds (+0.3 on belonging/psych safety short scales; ≥70% voluntary opt‑in; −15% handoff defects; +10 points PRM CSAT); and stop for any risk incident, <40% opt‑in, or a negative safety pulse.
Bake it into HR programs with a clear RACI (accountable owner, facilitators, communications, and data steward). Make it a staple of onboarding or a quarterly all‑hands event conducted during paid time and scheduled outside customer‑critical windows. Publish a one‑page comms sheet that links to strategy, affirms voluntary participation and opt‑outs, outlines anonymous feedback and a 90‑day data‑retention window with Legal/HR review, credits para‑athlete coaches/partners, and recognizes participants in company channels.

Common Pitfalls

Tokenism: Avoid treating the invited champion or cause as a gimmick by paying facilitators fairly, crediting community origins, budgeting for accessibility, and securing permissions, alongside visible leadership support.
One-and-done: A single emotional event won’t change culture; consistency is key. Don’t let the ritual lapse after a busy quarter or leadership change.
Forcing discomfort: Challenges should be stretch, not torture. Allow opt-outs or alternative roles for those who feel unsafe, so psychological safety isn’t compromised.

Reflection & Call to Action

This case from El Salvador shows how translating locally rooted practices into a workplace ritual, with consent and inclusion, can strengthen a team. By learning from para‑athlete coaches as technical experts in accessibility and inclusive service design, colleagues in a humble airport services firm strengthened trust and unity. What “adaptive champion” could you invite into your organization? Perhaps it’s a local artist who overcame the odds, or a veteran mentor from the community. The specific context will differ, but the underlying principle holds everywhere: shared challenge breeds shared triumph. Design a ritual where your team can sweat, laugh, and grow together – and you’ll forge bonds as solid as the strongest volcano rock.

With consent and anonymization, one AirSupport employee shared: “Before, I saw my job as just moving bags. Now I see it as moving people forward – including us, as a team.”