Leadership for Change online interview - Cruz

[Guest guest]

For those that may have an interest:

" Understanding the target population is a crucial component in leadership.

Success can only be obtained when you put yourself in the position of others and

learn how to change your style to fit your audience. "

- Cruz, Southeast Georgia Communities Project

Join Leadership Talks on Friday, December 19 at 1 pm ET for a live, online

interview with Cruz of the Southeast Georgia Communities Project (SGCP),

and a 2003 Leadership for a Changing World awardee. A former farmworker herself,

Cruz builds understanding and community acceptance of migrant workers in the

South. She will discuss the unique challenges facing migrant farmworkers and how

she has worked to create services that recognize their vital role in the

community.

TO PARTICIPATE

Go to <http://leadershipforchange.org/talks/discuss.php3?ForumID=19> on Friday,

December 19 at 1 pm ET. You may go there now to submit a question for in

advance. Due to time constraints, not all submitted questions will be answered.

Leadership Talks is text-based. To participate, you will not need any audio or

video software.

If you have any questions about accessing Leadership Talks, please contact

Bobb at sbobb@... or 202-777-7563.

DESCRIPTION

For nearly a decade, Cruz and SGCP have been building bridges among

migrant farmworkers, farmers, local citizens, service providers and legal

advocates. In addition to identifying the acute problems Latino migrant

farmworkers face, Cruz and her associates have developed an impressive list of

responses.

They've created a network of interpreters for medical visits; recruited VISTA

volunteers to conduct cultural sensitivity workshops for local health department

and hospital staff nurses; established a prenatal education program with

follow-up home visits for new migrant farmworker mothers; helped create an

H.I.V. education and prevention program; developed a legal assistance program

through the Georgia Legal Services Project; established an annual farmworker

health fair attended by over 1,500 farmworkers every year; and produced a radio

program on health and education issues targeted to migrant workers.

Cruz was one of ten children born into a poor migrant family. As a

farmworker, Cruz witnessed and experienced firsthand the poor treatment that

migrants often receive. They and resident seasonal farmworkers fall victim to

exploitation and such unscrupulous offers as false immigration documents and

illegal drivers licenses. Because they seek to have a better lifestyle, they are

vulnerable to all these injustices and are later caught up in scandals, and in

most cases incarcerated,says Cruz. This places them in danger of deportation and

in danger for their lives when they attempt to return to this country. In

reality, community acceptance is the key for social change in these communities.

FOR MORE INFORMATION

Leadership for a Changing World profile:

<http://leadershipforchange.org/awardees/awardee.php3?ID=109>

Leadership Talks archive: <http://leadershipforchange.org/talks/%A0>

__________________________________________

Leadership for a Changing World

Advocacy Institute

1629 K St., NW, Suite 200

Washington, DC 20006-1629

p: 202-777-7560

f: 202-777-7577

e: info@...

w: <http://leadershipforchange.org/>

Ruiz

Assistant Director Systems Development and Policy Administration

Migrant Health Coordinator

National Association of Community Health Centers, Inc.

7200 Wisconsin Avenue Suite 210

Bethesda, MD 20814

(301) 347-0442

(301) 347-0459 FAX

(202) 365-0154 Cell Phone

jruiz@...

www.nachc.com

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