See It: The Community being helped

Our community in Calloway County, Kentucky currently has many temporary Spanish-speaking residents who have come to our community from Mexico through the H2A program: a program that provides reliable guestworker labor to the agricultural industry. These workers labor every single day on farms in our community. Agriculture has long been known to provide one of the most dangerous job atmospheres available. Safety programs and materials have been available to American farmers for years, exposing the dangers of this way of life.

However, with this influx of labor, many American farmers are taking on new positions within their operation. Many are becoming farm managers in their business, making necessary contacts and business decisions. However, that leaves these Spanish-speaking migrant workers to do the jobs that are considered so dangerous and relatively little Spanish material to educate them of the risks. It is simply an overlooked need in our community. These workers deserve to know the risks of farm labor, how to prevent them, and how to respond if such an emergency does occur.

I am working to change this lack of knowledge. I want these workers to be informed, knowledgeable, and capable of handling these dangers, despite the language barrier. I am working to develop literature that will alert them to the risks of farm labor and distribute it among the 400-500 workers in my community. With appropriate funding, I also hope to be able to provide them with water bottles, first aid kits, or other types of care products to help them stay safe and healthy despite the dangerous atmosphere. I have named this project, ¡La Seguridad Primero! (Safety First) - Promoting Farm Safety Across Languag Barriers. I appreciate your time in exploring my project and my mission.