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>View discussions about this entry Country: United States
Organization: GRACE (Guatemalan Rural Adult and Children's Education) Program at the UU Church of Ft. Myers, Florida
Sector Focus - Other
Year the initative began (yyyy) - 2006
Positioning in the Mosaic of solutions
What is your signature innovation, your new idea, in one sentence? - Lucía's Letter is a true testimony and will resonate with Indigenous girls to prevent emigration with predatory coyotes.
Describe your innovation. What makes your idea unique and different than others doing work in the field? - The Letter is recorded in Spanish and the two Mayan languages: Q'anjobal and Q'iché and the advice is from trafficking survivors to their countrywomen.
Delivery Model: How do you implement your innovation and apply it to the challenge/problem you are addressing? - The Audio CD and Bilingual (Spanish/English) written Guide can be easily reproduced, distributed and utilized in rural areas. Catholic Relief Services is already distributing hundreds of copies along the Guatemalan borders in their Migrant Centers and with rural educators. The Human Trafficking Awareness Partnership (HTAP) is distributing copies to NGOs and law enforcement agencies around the U.S.
How do you plan to grow your innovation? - We plan to continue reproduction and distribution of the resource, and will seek funding support from Zonta and the Unitarian Universalist Church.
Do you have any existing partnerships, and if so, how do you create them? - The GRACE (Guatemalan Rural Adult and Children's Education) Program is housed withing the UU Church of Fort Myers, Florida and we have received support from Zonta and the UU Women's Federation in Boston. We collaborate with Florida Gulf Coast University and the Florida Coalition Against Human Trafficking (FCAHT). We write innovative proposals and use radio and art to carry our messages.
Provide one sentence describing your impact/intended impact. - We seek to prevent human trafficking of girls and boys by educating the source populations about the real dangers of emigrating to the US with a dishonest smuggler.
How many people have you served or plan to serve? - Thousands of people have listened to the Letter and Advice, through radio and rural education programs in Guatemala and in the US through trafficking awareness programs by GRACE and HTAP. Thousands or even millions more could be reached through wider distribution and broadcasts.
Please list any other measures of the impact of your innovation? - Another measure would be the requests that we receive for additional copies, HTAP is distributing them in the US, with royalties going to the GRACE Program.
Anecdotal information reaches us about families who have decided NOT to send their child to the US.
Exactly who are the beneficiaries of your innovation? - 1) The girls and boys who stay in their home country instead of attempting the dangerous emigration journey.
2) Community educators in the US use this resource repeatedly for consciousness raising. How is your initiative financed (or how do you expect your initiative will be financed)? - The CD and Guide are in finished form. Currently, we rely on royalties and donations for reproduction of additional copies.
If known, provide information on your finances and organization - Annual budget;
Annual revenue generated; Number of staff: The GRACE Program at the Unitarian Universalist Church of Fort Myers, Florida has a 2008 annual budget of $23,450 and one very part-time Director: Dr. Genelle G. Grant What is the potential demand for your innovation? - Thousands of copies could be distributed throughout Central America.
What are the main barriers to financial sustainability? - The main barrier would be lack of interest by potential donors.
What is the origin of this innovation? Tell us your story. - While working closely with migrant farmworker families, I learned that some of the Mothers had survived being raped and sold by the smugglers who brought them from Guatemala and Mexico. One brave woman agreed to tell her story and we wrote the Letter together.
Please provide a personal bio. Note this may be used in Changemakers marketing material - Genelle G. Grant, Ed.D. is a health communications specialist who has taught in Colombia, Puerto Rico, Mexico and Guatemala. She currently leads Teacher Development seminars with the Rigoberta Menchú Tum Foundation in rural Guatemala.
Contact Information:
Genelle Grant
Director, GRACE (Guatemalan Rural Adult & Children's Educatio) Program GRACE (Guatemalan Rural Adult and Children's Education) Program at the UU Church of Ft. Myers, Florida (Social Justice Program within the UU Church) Discussions about this entry
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Lucía's Letter and Resource Guide
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Hello Genelle,
Neat idea. Could you please respond to some of the questions posed above? Thanks!
Dana Frasz
Ashoka's Changemakers
Dear Genelle-
It sounds as though your letter has the potential to make great impact. If you have the opportunity to expand- how would you do it? Could you tell us a little more about the content of the video?
Laura Cardinal
Public Health and Human Trafficking Specialist
We would love to expand the production and distribution of the audio recording of Lucia's Letter. The limiting factor is of course funding> we do have some groups who will distribute< but the more who get involved in central america< the better> gracias
Saludos Laura.
This is an audio recording, intended for rural groups and radio. It is a letter written by a MayaQ'anjobal woman who now lives in SW Florida, to her mother in Guatemala. She describes her journey from GT through Mexico to Florida when she was 15. She was raped, drugged and abused by the coyote and other men in the group and then told she owed more money in Florida. She was then forced to work for the coyote and her sister (12 at the time) was forced to be the coyote's "woman." It is very powerful because Lucia never told her Mother what really happened and she is understandably very emotional about revealing the abuse and enslavement.
The recording is about 8 minutes long, in Spanish, English, Q'anjobal and Q'iche. At the end of the Spanish and English version is advice from Guatemalan women in Florida who survived trafficking, to their countrywomen and others: use your money to send your daughters to school in our own country, don't trust the coyotes, understand that you have human rights even if you are not in your own country, slavery is illegal and the coyotes are breaking the law more than you are, you will not be sent to prison forever if the police find you, try not to take the drugs they give you.