NC FIELD celebrated the completion of home ownership classes for farmworker families. Youth from the farmworker youth council PJC spoke with human rights activists about using stories to document marginalized communities. An upcoming youth symposium in November will give youth a voice on issues like child labor and access to education. Youth and families participated in gardening workshops and the filming of a documentary about pesticide exposure. A grant was received to create a youth program preventing heat-related illness in farmworkers. The PJC media team improved their photography and video skills over the summer.

1. NC FIELD • leadership
• education
Newsletter Summer 2011
• dignity
Fun in the Summertime for NC FIELD!
Farmworker families celebrated
the completion of Home Ownership and
Financial Management classes given by
Telamon Corporations’ Housing Counselor
Ismelda Rosario Ortega this past Septem-
ber. Their certificates of completion sym-
bolize a wonderful collaboration between
NC FIELD, AFOP, and Telamon Corpora-
tion in serving the migrant and seasonal
farmworker families of North Carolina.
On July 10th Grace Weng and Zama Coursen-Neft from Human Rights
Watch Youth council spoke to the farmworker youth council, Poder Juvenil Campesino
(PJC) at the Kinston Public Library. They spoke about their positions as human rights
activists internationally and how stories and testimonies are important ways of docu-
menting what really happens in marginalized communities in rural areas.
SAVE the DATE: YouthSpeak Symposium 2011
Wed. November 30th, 2011 Kinston NC
YouthSpeak Symposium is a youth created and led event in which they are
given the opportunity to voice their opinions, concerns, and experiences with members
of the community. The event consists of four panel themes with youth directing panel
discussions about issues such as child labor in farm work, access to education, at-risk
youth, among others. There will also be an exhibition of photographs by youth photog-
raphers and video screenings. The entire Kinston community is invited to participate.
Keep posted for venue details!

2. Toxic Free and FIELD Get Down and Dirty with
CEFS Youth Gardening and SAF Documentary
Collaborationbetween Toxic Free
NC, Lenoir MEP and NC FIELD en-
abled migrant and seasonal youth and par-
ents from eastern North Carolina to attend
a fall planting session at the Center for En-
vironmental Farming Systems in Goldsboro
on Saturday, September 24th.
During the workshop everyone learned about
composting, crop rotation, pesticide and in-
secticide mitigation/alternatives, cover crops,
dug for ginger root and harvested some pep-
pers! Lunch was courtesy of Toxic Free NC.
Afterwards, youth assisted with making the
supplies list, choosing which seed and plants
they would grow, as well as deciding on which
method they preferred: cold frame or low tun-
nels. Student leaders representing the differ-
ent groups accompanied Billie Karel and staff
to buy supplies for seven small gardening
projects.
Hats off to PJC youth Yesenia, Nef-
tali, Mildre, and Elvis for sharing their sto-
ries and raising awareness about the harms
of pesticides for farmworker youth by par-
ticipating in the filming of the documen-
tary Overworked and Under Spray: Young
Farm worker’s Pesticide Stories produced by
Toxic Free NC’s Ana Duncan Pardo and
Student Action with Farmworkers’ intern Abi
Bisette. The six-minute documentary shares
stories from young farm workers about re-
sulting health effects from their exposure You can view the documentary at
to pesticides in the fields, with commentary
from health outreach and advocacy experts.
www.youtube.com/toxicfreenc
Great job guys!!

3. Wake Forest Grant Community Spotlight
Wake Forest University- School of This Summer, NC FIELD families
Medicine and NC FIELD, Inc. received had the pleasure of taking housing fi-
a grant from the National Children’s Cen- nance classes with Ismelda Rosario from
ter for Rural and Agricultural Health and Telemon Corp. Ismelda, originally from
Safety for a project titled, Youth Health San Francisco de Macoris, Dominican
Educator Program to Prevent Heat-Related Republic, has been actively working with
Illness among Child Migrant and Seasonal the Latino community over the past three
Farmworkers. years
This Youth Health Educator project is based As Telamon Corp’s financial literacy in-
on a community-academic partnership to structor, she feels her experiences as a
address the following project goals: Housing Counselor have helped her reach
out to the community. In her own words: “I
1. Develop a Youth Health Educator discover my art of helping people discov-
program to reduce heat-related illness er ways to help themselves and achieve
among child migrant and seasonal farm- their financial goals, by providing them
workers and children who accompany their with essential education and tools.”
farmworker parents into the fields;
2. Implement, evaluate, and revise the In the future, Ismelda would like to finish
Youth Health Educator program; and her Master’s in Business Administration.
3. Disseminate the revised Youth Aside from her professional commitments,
Health Educator program so that it can she would love to travel to amazing plac-
be used by other farmworker communities. es and continue meeting wonderful peo-
ple. The NC FIELD community sends a big
“Thank You!” to Ismelda for sharing her
Media Team Update knowledge and dedication.
The PJC Media Team spent this Sum-
mer hard at work refining their photography
and video skills. We learned about com-
position and the “rule of thirds”, exposure
techniques, and the basic elements of vi-
sual storytelling. The Media Team aims to
use photography and video to tell their
stories, document NC FIELD events and be-
come the “go to” photographers of Eastern
NC’s farmworker community. To date, par-
ticipants include: Jonathan, Milly, Adriana, Photos of Blunt St.
housing project by
Yesenia, Neftali, Jose, Noe, Elvis, and Peter, Jonathan, Milly and
plus Jose R. and Antonio, who are also in- Noe (L to R)
strumental in providing transportation.
NC FIELD has wheels!
A huge thank you to Grace Fellowship, Jimbo Perry, Tristan Bruner, and Wade,
our trusty mechanic, for their assistance with the very generous donation of a 15
passenger van to help with transportation for NC FIELD and PJC activities!

4. OVACIONES!
Poder Juevenil Campesino
PJC has been invited to be a part of The NC Youth
Food Council (YFC) which aims to support and develop
youth leadership that is specifically dedicated to building
a sustainable, local food system across the state and
driven by the needs, knowledge, and vision of young people committed to good food ac-
cess and children’s wellness. During the fall of the school year of 2011-2012 these found-
ing organizations will network and convene to develop an organizational plan. With funding,
Phase II will begin in the spring of 2012, where outreach to broad membership and initia-
tion of programming plus a public and/or policy campaign will begin. Other organizations
participating are YES!, 4-H, the Inter-Faith Food Shuttle, RAFI, and CEFS.
Youth photographer Jose Godinez Photos For Sale
had a photograph published in the Asso-
ciation of Farmworker Opportunity Program’s The Youth Council- Poder Juvenil
Campesino - continues to develop me-
book America’s Farmworker Children: Harvest
dia for use in documentaries and photo
of Broken Dreams. Below is the image in-
exhibits as part of their efforts to raise
cluded in the book- just one of his many
awareness for child labor in agriculture.
excellent photos!
In 2010, they showed their photos and
videos at the gallery ROOM 100 in Dur-
ham, among other exhibits across North
Carolina. Show some love and spread
the word! They are selling their prints
of their photos- all proceeds from sales
go to pay for youth ou can find their
work at:
www.ncfield.org
Buy some excellent photography
and support our youth activities!
NC FIELD, Inc. 327 N. Queen Street, Suite 110 Kinston, NC 28501
email: Executivedirector@ncfield.org www.ncfield.org
Mission: To create strategies and initiate collaborative actions that will promote justice and equality by
increasing access to opportunities for farm working communities in North Carolina.
Goals: End child labor in agriculture
Develop and create additional migrant educational programming specifically for unaccompanied
minors and migrant children and youth
Eliminate food scarcity among the farmworker communities
Provide dignified housing for migrant farmworker families and unaccompanied youth
Chair: Peter Eversoll Co-Chair: Melissa Bailey Secretary: Rachel Wright
Treasurer: Pedro Sanchez Executive Director: Emily Drakage Legal Counsel: Scott Brown
Photos courtesy of: Jose Godinez, Ivan Rodriguez, Melissa Bailey and Peter Eversoll unless otherwise noted.