Monday, August 30. 2010
For more than a year we had wanted to organize soccer games
between farm workers and supporters in order to build relationships between
the communities and to promote social change and a healthy life style.
The idea had never become a reality for a few reasons: many farm workers
do not have the appropriate gear to play, there are no soccer fields in many
of the farm worker communities, and it was a project that would take a lot
of time to plan. Thankfully this summer we were able to solve these issues
and make our idea a reality.
Peace Passers is an
organization that collects and distributes soccer supplies to people and
communities throughout the world. They recognize the importance of sports
for people as individuals but also to build community and create social change. A
few months ago, I contacted Sean Frye and Ian Guthrie and asked if they would
be interested in providing us with soccer gear so that we could organize
soccer games between farm workers and supporters. I was very excited when
they agreed to do so but I almost could not believe it when I picked up their
donations! They provided us with 78 soccer shoes for children and adults, 7
pairs of gloves, 42 pairs of guards and similar equipment, 38 soccer balls
and 3 sets of soccer uniforms for children! Everyone in my office was thrilled!!! It
was time to start planning the games!
I asked Sergio, a Deland YAYA, to help me figure out how to distribute the
gear for children, and he directed me to the local little league, coordinated
by the Catholic Church. We were able to provide uniforms for two of the teams,
soccer balls (which they really needed for their trainings), soccer equipment
and shoes! Both the parents and the children were very excited to get these
donations!
After delivering these supplies, we started thinking about the adult soccer
game. NFWM has partnered with the Alliance for Active Women (AMA) in Seville,
Florida, to address the issues faced by farm worker women in that community.
At the beginning of the summer, AMA started planning how to get the funds
to get an office and pay for all the utilities and expenses associated
to it. We asked them if they were interested in helping us plan a soccer
game and proposed that we found sponsors to fundraiser for their office
and for the work that we were doing together. They agreed.
Also for the summer we were very blessed to get two amazing interns. One
of them, Antonio, helped to coordinate and plan the soccer game. Even though
there were no fields available in Seville, Antonio, Ana (the president
of AMA) and Sergio (Deland YAYA) started to research which fields were
available in the cities close by until they finally found one that we could
use in Pierson!
With Antonio's help we were able to plan the game, find volunteer players,
find sponsors for each player and raise more than $2000 to support the
work of the women and NFWM. The ladies who played in the AMA team got
new shoes, shin guards and soccer balls (donated by Peace
Passers). The game was a success! Everyone had a great time! people
were smiling, sweating and playing as good as they could for farm worker
justice.
After the game, many people asked me when would be the next game. The game
brought together children, YAYAs, members of the labor movement, members
of other organizations, people of faith, farm workers and other members
of our communities. We hope that we can plan more games this year!
We are thankful to Peace
Passers, the sponsors, the
players, the little league and everyone who worked hard this summer to
make it an exciting and fun time for all!!!
 
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Monday, August 23. 2010
On Sunday August 22, 2010, YAYA supporters from North Florida
took a trip to Hastings Florida. Our destination was the Organization of
United Resources Center Food Bank & Clothing Pantry (O.U.R. Center),
a multi-purpose community center that serves disenfranchised rural areas
of Putnam County. The O.U.R. Center is stationed within a defunct elementary
school. An old classroom has been converted into a food pantry and clothing
distro while others continue to serve their original purpose during the
after school and summer camp children’s programs.
We arrived in the middle of a sun shower with a truckload of bicycles.
Volunteers from Jacksonville and Saint Augustine had been meeting to fix-up
the bikes in weeks past, and the delivery had finally arrived. We met with
about 15 farm workers and community members. They were  very
sweet and incredibly grateful for the bikes. One person offered his pay
stub as proof of his work. Another person rode his bike away backwards
crooning with happiness. One woman nearly cried.
Although
we gave away all of the bikes, I do not think we were necessarily successful
in our mission to create community and foster relationships with the people.
Unfortunately because of the weather and the fact that we were outdoors
we did not have a space to sit down and really get to know anyone.
I am glad that we did make the connections that we did, and I look forward
to following up with the farm workers and the community organizers in Hastings.
Cole Lee
St Augustine, Florida
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Wednesday, August 18. 2010
While Senator LeMieux still has not indicated that he will
be co-sponsoring AgJOBS or the DREAM
Act, his state director John Newstreet
dedicated an entire day on Monday, August 16, to spend with undocumented
families in Apopka. We appreciated this great commitment of his time to learning
more about the issues that undocumented farmworkers and young people in the
community face, and about the work farmworkers are doing to organize for
justice. The day was organized by the National
Farm Worker Ministry (NFWM), the Farmworker
Association of Florida (FWAF), and the Hope
CommUnity Center (HCC).
The DeLand and Orlando
YAYA Chapters participated, and we were joined by
Central Florida Jobs with Justice (JWJ) and the Central
Florida Chapter of the Labor Council for Latin American Advancement (LCLAA).
This was a great opportunity to give a more comprehensive picture of the
impact of our broken immigration system on entire families and communities,
and the nightmares caused by enforcement-only policies. The day started at
the FWAF Apopka office, with breakfast and a
discussion on AgJOBS and the DREAM
Act, where members of our communities
spoke about their thoughts and personal experiences with immigration enforcement
and immigration laws. We discussed the factors that force
families to migrate to the U.S., including poverty and political unrest,
and the need for a just and humane immigration reform. We then traveled to
the Hope Community Center for lunch and a short screening of a film about
the DREAM
Act featuring the Sin Fronteras Youth Group.
We believe education is an important first step in creating just policies
that reflect the realities of the communtiy. We thank Mr. Newstreet and for
taking this step to learn about the daily realities of farmworkers, and for
sharing these stories and resources with Senator LeMieux. We hope the Senator
LeMieux will take the stories of undocumented families to heart and use his
power to make a lasting impact on their lives by supporting AgJOBS and the
DREAM Act.
Dominique Aulisio
Orlando YAYA
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Tuesday, August 17. 2010
The National
Farm Worker Ministry (NFWM) partnered with the Alliance of Active
Women (AMA) to organize a soccer game fundraiser in support of their work
with farm worker women.
During this event 15 farm worker women from Volusia County and 15 AMA,
NFWM and YAYA supporters played a game to bring justice to the fields.
The event was a success. We were able to raise $2,300.00 and the farm worker
team won 3-2. The game was an opportunity for YAYAs and other supporters
to share, play and laugh together with the farm workers of the area.
We would like to thank:
-All of the sponsors for supporting our work
-The
players who donated their time and talent!
-Peace Passers for providing soccer shoes and soccer balls for the players
from the farm worker team
-The people who worked hard
to make this event possible (especially Antonio Franco, Dominique Aulisio,
Katie Gillet, Rocco Pallato and Francesca Mastrangelo).
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The soccer game with AMA and YAYA was probably one of my favorite
events I've been a part of to date. This soccer game was a fundraiser for
both AMA (Alliance of Active Women) and NFWM (National Farm Worker Ministry)
where businesses, organizations, and individuals sponsored the players. We
collected $2,300, which is amazing!
I feel like events like this one strengthens
the farm worker movement because we are bringing together two communities
that are far apart, but are fighting for the same cause. It was really awesome
to see all the players smiling and everyone mingling at half time. I really
hope that this turns into an annual event with AMA. Que viva la mujer campesina!!
Nicole Godreau
Orlando YAYA
Photos courtesy of Nicole Godreau
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