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Protegiendo Nuestro
Futuro (Protecting Our Future) Pesticide Safety
Education Program
National Catholic
Rural Life Conference
Des Moines, IA
Educating farm workers in Yakima Valley, Washington
about the dangers of agricultural pesticides,
especially for adolescents and the unborn, is
not just a public service for the National Catholic
Rural Life Conference; the effort provides a concrete
example of the pursuit of justice for poor and
vulnerable populations, and exemplifies the spirit
of Jesus’ teaching on neighbor-love.
Women and children are especially vulnerable
to the risks of pesticides, because they work
seasonally and are more likely to miss formal
pesticide trainings. Realizing both the harmful
impacts of pesticides and the pervasive lack of
farm workers’ awareness, the NCRLC launched
a long-term educational initiative, “Protegiendo
Nuestro Futuro” (Protecting Our Future)
Pesticide Safety Education Program in March 2004.
Implementation of the initiative relied upon
extensive networking and creativity over a 16-month
period, including the development of a 90-minute
Spanish-language video on pesticide safety, and
training approximately 25 local parishioners as
instructors. The effort, led by NCRLC, included
an advisory committee representing 15 government
agencies, Catholic and secular organizations,
and Catholic parishes. |
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Most Reverend Carlos Sevilla, Bishop of the Diocese
of Yakima, devoted one of his monthly one-hour
radio programs to discussing the project and the
topic of pesticide safety to promote awareness
of the new resource. NCRLC also received in-kind
support from Radio Cadena, a Spanish-language
public radio station with 21,000 listeners. The
station produced educational mini-dramas and public
service announcements on pesticide safety, and
broadcast them seven times a day for 30 days during
the program’s launch; these continue to
be aired today.
The first round of formal classes offered in
March and April of 2004 reached over 70 adolescent
and adult farm workers about reducing the health
impacts of agricultural pesticides on their lives
and that of their families. Initially, four parishes
in the Diocese of Yakima participated, but interest
in the program has continued to grow by word of
mouth and through extensive media coverage, including
stories by the Associated Press, diocesan newspapers,
and Spanish-language newspapers and radio stations
in the area.
According to Tim Kautza of NCRLC, “Successful
implementation of the project helps bring to life...
several principles of Catholic social teaching.
Parishioners can look beyond their own self-interest
and stand in solidarity with the most vulnerable
among them.” This project was funded in
part by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops
Environmental Justice Program.
Contact Person: Tim Kautza, at ncrlctk@mchsi.com or 515-270-2634
• Article in Seattle Post-Intelligencer |
