Somos Poderosas!

A group of PIQE graduates in Merced County organized together to advocate and mobilize for change. They coined the name “Mujeres Poderosas” – Powerful Women. With the support from PIQE and Cultiva La Salud, the women gather twice a month to discuss issues that concern their student’s education and health. Recently, several women established a two-way partnership with the Los Banos School District to discuss the nutritional meal options provided to their students. Collaborating with the district, they have provided feedback and recommendations such as seasonal fruits and vegetables, non-microwavable food items, and much more. This month, they were given the opportunity to recommend two parent representatives to sit on the Wellness Committee for the school district. While they celebrate this step forward, more must be done in their eyes.

Since the pandemic, I serve on several committees in my community. At these online meetings, I became aware of the laws and rights that I was not aware of such as Assembly Bill #86. With knew knowledge of funds for the Merced County, I attended the Board of Supervisors meeting and discovered that information was not translated in Spanish, would not answer our phone calls, and no public meetings were offered to discuss how these funds would be distributed.

Armanda Ruiz

As a result, Senator Caballero asked for those willing to partner with her to bring California Secretary of Education Tony Thurmond to Merced County to discuss quality education for our children and to create a plan of accountability for the extra funds that have been issued for our school districts.

Way to go Mujeres!