General

Sowers Program Covers Latino and Migrant Community in Southern MN

Jesus Torres, a young member of Centro Campesino, presented an electrifying program to CTK parishioners early in June about the plight of members of the Latino and migrant community in Southern Minnesota. It was electrifying because so few of us even knew about the existence of this community and therefore didn’t know about the conditions in which this community lives.

 Latino and migrant workers have migrated to Minnesota for many years to work on the farms for low wages. Because of discrimination in wages and inadequate living conditions, Centro Campesino was organized in 1998 to work toward bettering the lives of workers and their families. As a result, over the years, workers have won much improved living conditions in their camp, including a community kitchen and childcare unit. Other Centro Campesino accomplishments include:

• Passage by the Minnesota legislature in 2004-2005 the Improving State Protections for Migrant Workers Act.
• Passage in 2007 of the Flat Rate Tuition Bill, which gives thousands of students access to in-state tuition at 2-year and technical colleges throughout the state.
• In 2009 the first college-access program tailored to at-risk Latino youth in rural Minnesota.
• Received the 2002 Nonprofit Mission Award for Advocacy from the Minnesota Council of Nonprofits.
• In 2006 received the Social Justice Award from the National Lawyers Guild in Minnesota.

 If you would like to learn more about Centro Campesino, go to it website: http://www.centrocampesino.net/.