YAYA is the Youth And Young Adult Network of the Farm workers’ Ministry. It is, what they call, a solidarity network. They work with multiple farm worker organizations to educate the public about farm worker plights, equip farm workers with the tools for better working conditions, and mobilize the communities of and surrounding farm workers to action. One of the main points Nico and Heather stressed about farm work is that it is a skilled labor job–it’s not actually just anyone who can spend all day every day picking produce.
I learned that they work closely with a community of farm workers located in Fellsmere, Florida. Which happens to be the town I was born in. I was turning 8 when we left there, so it seems like there was a lot I just didn’t understand. We lived on 5 acres of land with a pond and a lot of trees. Up against the back side of our property was an orange grove (or was it grapefruit?). I remember coming home from school sometimes and the oranges (or grapefruits) all being gone. I think I was 5 or so when my mother explained to me that it was someone’s job to come and pick the fruit when it was ripe and ready to eat. How did I think the fruit got into the grocery stores? I have never been back–more because of some personal issues with our old house than anything–but it’s nice to see that there are people helping that little town.
One thing I found really interesting about YAYA is that they don’t make decisions and then raise awareness for the farm workers. They take all of their ques from the workers as far as what they are raising funds or awareness for. YAYA is a mega phone for voices that normally go unheard because the majority of people don’t want to listen.
While I knew that the pay rate was a big issue for farm workers, I didn’t know of the serious adverse affects of the pesticides they are constantly exposed to. In fact, I didn’t realize that the pesticides were sometimes being applied to the produce as it is being picked–I thought it was applied during the night or something. These pesticides can cause any problems from a minor rash to serious birth defects (women who are pregnant work all the way up until they have their child). A group of farm workers now located in Apopka got Lupus from working in pesticide ridden fields for so long. Lupus is something you can pass to your children. So that’s what’s happening even though this group no longer works in the fields. It’s an incredibly viscous and tragic cycle. I also learned that the US is the most lax when it comes to pesticide laws and control.
Nico told us that writing for YAYA is much more than just grant writing (which he does). He has also written film scripts, reports, workflow charts, spreadsheets, phone scripts, and program agendas. It seems like it’s really just a little bit of everything!
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