Yahoo! December 5, 2000
Family Finds Life Tough In America
Miami - WPLG. Monday December 04 09:45 PM EST
It's a story many have heard before, a couple flees Cuba with their child to
give him a life of freedom in the United States, and then has a tough time
starting life in their new country.
The scenario is especially familiar to the Zayas family. They came from Cuba
five months ago. Now Luis, Juana and 2-year-old Daniel Zayas are struggling to
get on their feet in a new country. Despite their difficulties, they're not
sorry that they left Cuba.
"We left Cuba to come to the United States for freedom and a better
life for our family," Luis said through an interpreter.
They arrived with nothing but the clothes on their backs. Luis is making
minimum wage, his wife, who was an accountant in Cuba, is desparately looking
for work. A friend gave them money for an apartment and a little bit of
furniture, and while they don't have much, their Christmas wish list is simple.
Juana would like to give her son some clothes, toys and furniture. Luis has
a wish of his own.
"I want to help my family in any way and help my wife find a job,"
he said.
It will be their first Christmas in a new country, and while times are tough
now, the Zayas' are grateful for each other, and for the opportunity to create a
better life for their family.
If you would like to help the Zayas family, you can contact Family Central
at (954) 724-7553 in Broward County and in (305) 908-5818 in Miami-Dade County.
Copyright © 2000 WPLG Click10.com.
U.S. Brigade to Cuba Gets Lesson in Community Rebuilding
Latino Link. Monday December 04 01:14 PM EST
In January, 25 United States citizens will travel abroad to learn about
rebuilding a community in a country where reconstruction is a way of life.
The group will travel to La Guniera, Cuba, to get hands-on experience in
community development and home construction. Fifteen years ago, a group of women
from La Guniera decided to spearhead a restoration of their community. In 1995,
The United Nations called the city, which lies 40 miles outside of Havana, a
global model of a community working together to create a better place to live.
Following the success of La Guniera, the La Abeja Obrera/Worker Bee Project
was created last June by The Center for Cuban Studies and the Jojo White
Memorial Solidarity Mural Project in San Francisco. More than 20 construction
workers, community activists, artists and teachers traveled to Cuba to learn
about new and different models of community redeveloped.
"We want to connect lessons of community development with international
solidarity work," said Betsy McClean, program director for La Abeja Obrera.
La Abeja Obrera will allow artists and educators to learn about community
development in the small Cuban town without getting caught up in the rhetoric of
Communism.
"I want to learn alternative ways of building without romanticizing
Cuba," said Rhea Vedra, a teacher in Manhattan who will join the group in
Cuba next month.
Vedra hopes that the Worker Bee project will help establish an international
network of activists who can teach each other about community development. She
hopes to learn new ways of building homes, involving residents in art projects
and leadership training programs, and then bring those ideas back with her.
"This is not about going out and saving the world," said Vedra. "Cuba
is living in a multi-layered society that's in transition. I want to know what
they're doing with a scarcity of resources," she said.
Kofi Taha, co-founder and co-director of the Active Element Foundation, said
traveling to Cuba affords the opportunity to go outside of convention and look
at community development in fresh new ways.
Karen Song, a New York artist and writer, looks forward to the experience. "The
collective is so strong. The opportunity to work there, the rich culture and
history, it's a very exciting time to be there," said Song.
She added La Abeja Obrera is more than a sociological project. "We're a
cohesive unit that was formed here and we're open to what the Cuban community
has to offer," said Taha. "We'll come back and apply what we've
learned in our communities. The reach will go as far and as wide as possible."
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