EPA Honors Promatoras for Educating Many

by Louie Gilot
El Paso Times, May 18, 2005

Most people trust their friends' advice.

That's why for years nonprofit organizations like Poder de la Mujer have relied on trained neighborhood volunteers, called promotoras, to reach people in need. Poder de la Mujer volunteers spread the word about domestic violence and AIDS that way.

Now, they've added environmental health to their repertoire.

"We would go into people's house to talk to them about other things, and we noticed the conditions. We saw the need," said promotora Dolores Diaz, 45, whose turf is the Secundo Barrio.

What they witnessed were adults disposing of trash improperly, boiling water for too long and children threatened by lead poisoning and untreated asthma. Diaz said she met people who thought asthma was a psychological, not a physical, illness.

Last month, the group received the Children's Environmental Health Excellence Award, a new award from the Environmental Protection Agency. The nine Poder de la Mujer volunteers were trained by the Farmworker Justice Fund, a nonprofit organization in Washington, D.C., and that group shared the award.

In four years, the promotoras have trained 170 farm workers and low-income border residents, who in turn will educate those around them.

While the EPA is responsible for environmental policy, "there is a great deal that others can do to make sure that children are protected from environmental threats," William H. Sanders III, acting director of the Office of Children's Health Protection, said in a news release about the award.

Poder de la Mujer was formed in 1999 by immigrant women who received visas under the Violence Against Women Act with the help of Las Americas Immigrant Advocacy Center. Las Americas is the group's fiscal agent.

"It's peer training, from the community and for the community. They are their friends. They are their neighbors. They are welcome," Sister Liliane Alam, Las Americas executive director, said.

Last year, Poder de la Mujer got a contract from University of Texas at El Paso's Center for Environmental Resource Management to promote healthy alternatives for household chemicals -- like using vinegar instead of bleach and cinnamon instead of ant poison.

This year, the group's contract may be renewed to tackle lead poisoning, center officials said.

Diaz said the way to change behavior is to change the way parents bring up their children.

"I ask, 'What do you want for your children?' That really makes them think," she said.

Louie Gilot may be reached at lgilot@elpasotimes.com, 546-6131.

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