FARMERVILLE, La. (KTVE/KARD) – Latinas Unidas, or United Latin Women of Farmerville are working together to promote literacy within the Hispanic community.
The group have been working together for over two decades, but this time, their goal is to introduce children and their families to the humanities through the Bilingual Primetime Reading Program.
“So, in order for us to have a bilingual program, we had to have bilingual scholars and storytellers. Our ladies, there were five of us, came on a Saturday, and we trained to become a scholar or storyteller. So, we are preparing now to host the program,” said Community Outreach Director for the town of Farmerville, Mary Barrios.
In efforts to connect families to literacy, these talented Latinas Unidas will be assisting over 20 families to new resources.
“A lot of our families may not understand all the resources that local libraries and local people might be able to offer. So, all these books are bilingual books. Also the scholar will read the book and English and Spanish, and we’ll teach families, how do you discuss a book, how do you discuss some of the issues that might come up in a book,” explained Barrios.
Natali Turrubiartes is a teacher of English as a Second Language in Union Parish. Turrubiartes says she relates to the language barrier people may experience.
“I moved to this country when I was 6 years old. I didn’t speak the language, so I understand a lot of my students with the language barrier. This program to me is like a god sent, in a way, because a lot of people don’t really understand the struggle these students go through.”
“Being a high school teacher you can see the need there. But I would like to say the Hispanic population is also growing, so it’s very good to try to help them too,” said Union Parish Spanish high school teacher, Erica Reyes.
This growing community will now have access to new programs and resources. Latinas Unidas have been working on serving the Hispanic population for more than 20 years.
“We want to make sure that we continue to share with the families the importance of reading and the love for reading. Whatever impact we can make in the community it keeps on going and creates the ripple effect,” said Adult Educator, Wendy Confort.
Latinas Unidas are prepared to provide their Spanish services to other communities in need.
Once families sign up for the program, they will be provided with free meals and transportation.
The program will begin in March, and it will run for 6 sessions. For more details on the ESL (English as a Second Language) program, you can call Farmville Town Hall at (318) 368-9242
