I grew up working in the fields along with my family. My dad is a farm contractor and dedicates his time to reach out to many people in need of work, housing and better pay. I got to see how many farm workers get overlooked, discriminated against and seen as worthless. I decided that for my community project, I was going to do more research on this population and then do some community work for them. After doing the research, I found out that what this population needs is (1) support by providing them with important information, such as the different services that exist in their community and (2) empowerment by giving them the opportunity to identify their strengths and their potential to be leaders in their community.

Statement of Need

My first option was to do my project in the Butte County Housing Authority in Gridley. There are many people residing in the labor camp and agencies do not serve that population. The labor camp is on the outskirts of Gridley and many of them don't have cars. I felt like a community event done in their area would be a great opportunity for them to get involved and get saturated with a lot of useful information. Migrant farm workers enjoy big community events and participate, but it has to be something that they can relate to and feel like they have a place there.

Description of the Intervention

    I began by contacting Angel Calderon, who works in the Gridley area. I knew he had done some community work at the labor camp, and he was well known by the residents. Angel did not hesitate in helping me. We divided up the responsibilities for the event. I contacted Univision for advertising for the event that took place on April 2nd. I made the flyer, contacted Big Brothers Big Sisters to see if they were interested in putting an information table, and contacted the Disc Jockey so he could donate a few of his hours for the event. Angel contacted Butte County Housing Authority to make sure it was fine with them to do this, and he talked to the priest from Gridley to give us a speech. The priest was also responsible for starting the march, he passed out most of the flyers and he also contacted the media to get this event publicized. 
    I got a hold of a low cost/no cost information packet that was in Spanish, so I made a lot of copies to include in our information table. I was in charge of collecting as much material, promo items and pamphlets of information that were translated in Spanish so it could be useful for the people. Not only did we think about the adults but also the children. There are many children in the labor camp who need something to do, some entertainment. I was able to get three piņatas with plenty of candy. For our young adults we also provided them with music so they can dance and also have a great time.
    A couple weeks before the event Angel and I decided that we wanted to meet with residents from the labor camp so we can start getting them involved. By getting them involved we made this event not only for them but by them. During the meetings we discussed the possibility of selling food and who was going to sell what. This was a way for them to also make a little money. 
    On the actual day of the event my sister and I started setting up the information tables with various types of information. Angel and community members hooked up the sound system and started blowing up balloons with the helium tank. A few little girls helped fill up the pinatas with candy and distribute the flags we were going to use for the march in honor of Cesar Chavez ( we were honoring Cesar Chavez because his birthday was, March 31st). The people sold mangos, cucumbers, flavored water and more. 
    People started gathering and that is when we decided to begin our march. A couple people carried the Virgin of Guadalupe (symbol of Cesar Chavez's strength, power and determination) and many of the children carried a large sign that said, "Youth Yes, Drugs No!" (in Spanish). About 30 people walked around the labor camp singing different songs, yelling "Viva Cesar Chavez, Viva La Virgen De Guadalupe!!" It was an inspiring experience seeing adults and youth come together for the same cause.
    After getting back to our starting point we played more music and gathered a lot more people. Then I gave a little speech about who Cesar Chavez is and ways to practice his values. I realized that many people do not know who this man was and he could serve as a great role model to this population to gain more pride of what they do and who they are. Angel also spoke about drugs and alcohol and "youth is our future." People were very responsive to what we had to say. After we did all the speaking it was time for the piņatas with about 100 kids. To make this story short I got hit right on the hip bone by the piņata stick and that was barely with the first piņata, so you can imagine.
    At about 6 p.m. we ended the event and we started to clean up. Many kids were so helpful, so it was not a lot of work. At the end I felt so relieved and very excited of what had just occurred.

Evaluation of the Intervention

It was a very inspiring experience for me. I believe it went really well and people enjoyed themselves. The planning before was sort of shaky and unorganized but we were able to pull it through at the end. I like the sense that we focused our event towards all age groups and that is what it made it successful. We got about 60 people involved and that is great concerning our planning was not too concrete. I also like the fact that our event took place right there in their homes where all they had to do was walk out in to their doorstep. 

Reflections on the Project

If I had to do this again I would meet with Angel more formally and get more concrete with what we are actually doing. A lot of the planning was done through the phone so most of the time I felt unsure if everything was going to turn out smooth. Also I wish we would have had a little more help on the actual day. I do have to say that many residents did take initiative to take over some of the responsibilities. I used different resources that made this event a success.

References

Here is a list of people/ resources that deserve a big thanks and appreciation:
Butte County Department of Behavioral Health
Community Services Division *Janine Cuellar 891-2891
Butte County Housing Authority
Children Valley Oaks
Low Cost/No Cost Packet
Big Brothers Big Sisters
Angel Calderon 846-7305
Pedro Mota President of Guadalupana Group (church affiliated)
Sandhaus, S. (1998). Migrant Health: A Harvest of Poverty. American Journal of Nursing. 98 (9), 52-54
Stuart, P. (1992). A Better Future for Migrant Workers. Personnel Journal. 71 (12), 65-74 

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