In the mid-1990s, Sharon DiFruscia, Chair of the St. Monica Parish Faith and Justice Committee and other members of the parish travelled to the country of El Salvador. The trip was organized by the Social Justice Committee of Montreal with the intention of introducing parish members to the post-war reality of that Central American nation.  

Having just emerged from a teriible civil war in which nearly 100,000 Salvadorans (mostly poor campesinos) had lost their lives, the victims of the war wanted their story to be told to North Americans.

On a visit to the southern Salvadoran province of Usulatan, Sharon and other members of the group encountered the people of Zamoran. These people were internal refugees driven from other parts of El Salvador by the war. Desperately poor, with little in terms of resources, save for their strong faith and their spirit of determination, the people of Zamoran were trying to rebuild their lives and form a new community.

At the time of Sharon's visit, the area on which the people had settled was an abandoned,arid, open field. moved by the struggle of the people to build new lives, Sharon returned from El Salvador and approached the parish with the idea of twinning St Monica with the community of Zamoran. Over the past 15 years, the parish has been in solidarity with the people of Zamoran, a solidarity expressed through prayer, mutual visits, financial assistance, and educational projects.