In a panel discussion moderated by Claudia Chamorro, she welcomed the voices of three women who work as promotras in their respective fields. Each speaker shared their journey to becoming a promotora and the vital role they play in their families and communities.
Sandra Garcia, director of Campesinas Unidas del Valle de San Joaquin, a nonprofit organization that provides assistance to women migrant workers in Tulare County, shared her reasoning for choosing this profession.
It was through the unfair and harsh conditions she experienced while working in the fields that she realised she wanted to improve the working conditions of farm laborers in her area.
“I worked in the fields picking jalapenos, and they would give us soda bottles to fill up. They would give us 50 cents for each of them that we filled up,” said Garcia. “I also worked in the cotton fields, and I would only get paid $20 a day. It was unjust.”
Unfair wages were not the only factor influencing a change of profession; many also faced health inequalities, such as pesticide exposure.
“The death of my mother, who was really affected by the pesticides used in the fields, was one of the things that impacted me,” she said, “I wanted to learn who could train me and help me educate others in my community about this because it wasn’t just my mother, it was also three other workers who died.”
Garcia’s fear of adding to the list of deaths served as another push for her to find more resources and information to help and protect her community.
Alicia Acevedo, a new promotora, works in educating about domestic violence against youth in the Tulare community. Acevedo first began her line of work primarily in Kings County with the Behavioral Health Department, where she focused on providing residents with presentations on suicide prevention and on youth mental health.
Acevedo notes that she recognised individuals still required additional assistance after the county’s hours of operation, pushing her to find different avenues to engage the community.
Erica Carvona, who works at Altura Health Center in Tulare County, recalled wanting to give back and help her community access health resources. Having lived in Tulare for over 26 years, she noted that many never used the resources available to them for their health because they were afraid to use them.
“I started to see more and more people become sick in the community, and I came from a family that is prone to cancer, and I noticed people around here wouldn’t get their routine monthly check-ins, and that motivated me to help the community educate about the risks and how to test,” explained Carvona.
Panelists then provided further insight into the impact their roles as promotoras have on their professions and the sense of community that comes from this.
Acevedo explained that promotoras often see situations in which individuals may feel alone and immediately help alleviate them.
“They make an effort to specialize in things to be able to reach out and have people engage with the community,” shared Acevedo. She pointed out that meeting other promotoras has been helpful, as everyone has different specialties and sources of knowledge that she and others can learn from.
Panelists acknowledged that, through their collective efforts, they have educated community members about the benefits of completing their regulatory health check-ins and the importance of advocating for themselves.
“The work of the promotora doesn’t just end with themselves, but it’s where the community, it’s the professional development is able to extend these resources and engage their community with what they need,” commented Chamorro.
