UF students and faculty, in partnership with local residents, will host a weeklong series of events starting today for Gainesville’s annual Farmworker Awareness Week.
The goal of the event is to educate and raise awareness about local and national farmworker issues, said Paul Ortiz, director of the Samuel Proctor Oral History Program.
“Very often, the people who do this important work are unpaid, do not have access to good health care and their children don’t have access to good education,” he said. “We’re trying to bring these issues to public awareness.”
The Interfaith Alliance for Immigrant Justice, CHISPAS and UF’s Institute of Hispanic-Latino Cultures will host the event, with UF’s Center for Leadership and Service and UF’s Department of Housing & Residence Education co-sponsoring.
Specific events include a Wednesday night panel at the Alachua County Library District Headquarters branch, located at 401 E. University Ave, said Genesis Lara, executive director for Hispanic Heritage Month.
The 21-year-old UF history junior is one of several speakers who will discuss education among farmworker communities.
“We will be analyzing all different components and playing clips from interviews,” Lara said. “They’re telling the story. We’re just facilitating it.”
Ortiz said the events will bring UF and the broader area together in an interfaith, multilingual environment for a week.
“It’s a great educational opportunity, where we can take what we learn at UF, take it off of campus and learn from people who are working in agriculture,” he said. “This will help to improve the working and living conditions that farmworkers toil under.”
