intimidated me and made me doubt whether or not I should continue to look for help here in my community. Another barrier existed too: I could not drive, much less owned a car, and I did not know how to use public transportation either. 

 

These obstacles served to remind me that I could not, let alone should not, abandon my dreams and goals that brought me here and for which I had left everything behind. Since speaking English here is a necessity, and I had decided to continue, I did some research and signed up to go to school. I also learned how to use public transportation because the ironic thing about this was that I was living only a block from the school at that time, but did not have anyone to help me take care of my daughter. It was not easy, I confess, but even so, I never gave up. I had to wake up at 5:00am with my daughter so that when my husband headed to work, he could drop us off at my sister’s house so that she could look after my daughter while I took the bus to school to be able to continue towards my goals and dreams. 

 

I continued to go to the Health Department every chance I had and I began to meet more of the employees, but none of them spoke Spanish, and it was here that I realized why the Hispanic population did not come here to receive the services they offered. Out of necessity, they had to go to the Southside of the city, where they would be treated in their language without any problems. During one of the many times I visited the Health Department, I remember very clearly, a kind individual who was always willing to help and that always helped me, invited me to take a course as Health Promoter. In the moment I stood there surprised thinking to myself, what is this? She explained a little about the concept and plans of what we could do together if I agreed to do it, and this way we could get people like me to access services in our own community and language. I liked the idea, but at the moment I did not feel sure that I could truly do it, because I had my daughter and did not have someone to help me take care of her and of course I was not going to neglect her, much less, pay someone to look after her because I did not have the financial means that would allow me to do so. Therefore, I did not answer her at that moment, and she simply told me to take my time, that I could decide later, and if I decided to do it, I could take my daughter with me, and that caught my attention.

 

I arrived home with that curiosity, I thought about it for a few days, spoke with my husband and some time after, I decided that yes I wanted to do it. I visited that person to let her know the decision I had made, and we talked a bit about the program. She asked me to contact the person in charge of training, which I did a few days later. I went to her place of work, we took a tour and she explained in more detail what they did there. When she finished explaining and showing me the work, I have to be honest, it scared me a little bit, and I thought, I think that maybe they made a mistake, because what it was all about focused on health and I really didn’t have any knowledge about health-related things. I thought this was for people who were professionals, those who were prepared and had something to do with health, like Doctors, Nurses, Psychologists, etc. I had none of those degrees, my degree was in Tourism, and that has nothing to do with health, AND I am simply a mother with her daughter trying to get services in her community. I returned home a bit reflective and sad, thinking that yes, they had made a mistake with me, but still I had to give a response to this person about my decision. After analyzing the situation a bit, I decided that yes I wanted to do it, keeping in mind that if I did not accomplish it, I would have at least tried.

 

That is how, without having any knowledge from studying health, I was encouraged to do it. My first training lasted around 5 months, every weekend, and the majority of these were very long, but I liked it because I did not have to neglect my daughter. This was how I began to learn and become more involved in the Health Department in my Community. After the training and with some more knowledge, I began to invite people to get their services right here in our community, letting them know that yes, we speak the same language, and we began to see positive results. Little by little we were accounting for the needs of the people and to respond to these needs, we began to do very interesting projects along with other workers, and from there I began to involve myself and prepare myself in more areas of health and with other organizations.

 

I know some of you will ask yourself, what is a Promotora de Salud or what does a Promotora de Salud do? 

 

I will share something with you! It sounds easy to say, but to be a Promotora de Salud, you must have passion and do what you do with your heart, you must always be willing to help, to share, to listen and to feel, of course only doing that which is in your means.

 

Being a promotora is a job that is easy to say, but so complex and important at the same time, because you are the manual, the guide, the path, or the bridge, that many of us need most of the time to get to that right place that will help us cover the needs, that as human beings we have the right and deserve dignity, no matter our color, our race, our religion, our social status or legal status. And most importantly that I am someone from our own community that understands you, that knows and feels what really happens among us.

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A lot of times you have to cry 😭because of others’ pain, you will feel anger 🥶from knowing that because of the simple

fact that you do not know how to speak English,  or because they do not trust you, or because you think you do not have the right to receive a service, or not knowing where to go, or you are not deserving. A few times you will be able to share some things, but a lot of times you will remain quiet and will cry 😭in silence, for a pain that is not yours.

 

After years of doing this job in my community, I decided that I could continue to prepare myself in other areas, and that was how I began to look for more information to begin doing and learning new things, always guided by the specific needs of the Latino Community. 

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And one day after one of the many courses I had, a strong woman came on behalf of Planned Parenthood, with her now famous program called and known as CCmáS (Cuidándonos Creceremos más Sanos / Growing Healthier Together), with a desire to help, to share, and to teach our Hispanic community about their right to dignified access to their reproductive and sexual health, and she was willing to tear down the barriers and myths regarding all of those topics.