1. Activism: This week I volunteered at The Women to Women Conference in Apopka. This was a conference for migrant farmworkers to teach them about their rights, healthcare, self-defence and various other topics. The women were broken up into workshops from about 10am-3pm. My task for the conference was to be in charge of childcare. There were about 20-25 kids there and we kept them busy with coloring activities, games, and a game of kickball or two. This week felt very successful because we actually got to work not directly with the women but we made sure the children were very well taken care of so that they could concentrate on their workshops. Next Sunday we are going to the community garden in Fellsmere and I am really looking forward to it.
2. Reflection: The activism I have done this week, relates to what we have read in class because this conference was all about bringing these women together to empower them and to show them that they have rights too. It is very difficult to be able to bring groups of these women together as we have read about in the women workers in Maquiladoras article and also in the migrant domestic farmworker article. They rarely have any time off and they may not have anyone to watch their children, the language barrier may also be an issue. That’s why this conference was so great because they provided these women with childcare, breakfast and lunch and taught them many valuable things. According to Sarah Swider in her article Working Women of the World Unite?, she says “the unorganizable provides a new model for organizing that offers both the labor and the women’s movements a practical strategy for overcoming difficulties they face in the globalizing world” (Ferree & Tripp, p.129). The women walked out of there not just with gift bags but with a better sense of self.
3. Reciprocity: Volunteering at this conference was an amazing experience for me. We got to meet and get to know some terrific children and their mothers. It was also nice being part of something that allowed these women to have a day to focus on themselves.
Works Cited:
Ferree, Myra Marx, and Aili Mari Tripp. Global Feminism Transnational Women's Activism, Organizing, and Human Rights. New York, NY: New York University Press, 2006. Print.
Sunday, March 27, 2011
Friday, March 18, 2011
Service Learning Log
1. Activism: This week I got my assignment for the Women to Women Conference from Jenn Hollern, the Service Learning Coordinator for this conference. Heather, Gumbs, Athia and I will be coordinating some childcare activities for the children whose mothers are attending the conference, such as board games, crafts, and maybe some easy outside athletic games. I am also going to get together some donations for the conference. I am also looking forward to hopefully (if I can get off work) going to work in the community garden in Fellsmere with the group on April 3rd.
2. Reflection: This week in class we’ve talked a lot about women workers in the global market, we’ve also talked a lot about how women organize globally to solve issues. Jennifer Bickham Mendez says in her article Creating Alternatives from a Gender Perspective, that creating and taking advantage of a globalized political space through localized grassroots initiatives, the collective practices of women maquila workers’ movements have blown apart a simple notion of a global/local duality (Naples & Desai p.125). Obviously we aren’t working with maquila workers but they have a lot in common with migrant farmworkers in terms of being taken advantage of in the global marketplace. Its localized grassroots initiatives like the The Farmworker Association of Florida that are helping these women organize together and learn their rights. There was also a quote in this article that I thought was interesting, it’s from Mary Tong, the director of the Support Committee for Maquiladora Workers; she said, “Solidarity among workers should cross the border as easily as companies move production” (Naples & Desai p. 125). This quote can be helpful to everyone not just Maquiladora workers, if even the most diverse group has solidarity among it, they can come together to do great things.
3. Reciprocity: Since the Women to Women Conference isn’t till March 26th and the Fellsmere trip isn’t till April, I feel like I haven’t really gotten a chance to see any of the work that I’m doing take effect yet. I am really looking forward to working with these women and everything I can learn from them and from my classmates.
Works Cited:
Desai, Nancy. A Naples & Manisha. Women's Activism and Globalization: Linking Struggles and Transnational Politics. New York: Routledge, 2002.
2. Reflection: This week in class we’ve talked a lot about women workers in the global market, we’ve also talked a lot about how women organize globally to solve issues. Jennifer Bickham Mendez says in her article Creating Alternatives from a Gender Perspective, that creating and taking advantage of a globalized political space through localized grassroots initiatives, the collective practices of women maquila workers’ movements have blown apart a simple notion of a global/local duality (Naples & Desai p.125). Obviously we aren’t working with maquila workers but they have a lot in common with migrant farmworkers in terms of being taken advantage of in the global marketplace. Its localized grassroots initiatives like the The Farmworker Association of Florida that are helping these women organize together and learn their rights. There was also a quote in this article that I thought was interesting, it’s from Mary Tong, the director of the Support Committee for Maquiladora Workers; she said, “Solidarity among workers should cross the border as easily as companies move production” (Naples & Desai p. 125). This quote can be helpful to everyone not just Maquiladora workers, if even the most diverse group has solidarity among it, they can come together to do great things.
3. Reciprocity: Since the Women to Women Conference isn’t till March 26th and the Fellsmere trip isn’t till April, I feel like I haven’t really gotten a chance to see any of the work that I’m doing take effect yet. I am really looking forward to working with these women and everything I can learn from them and from my classmates.
Works Cited:
Desai, Nancy. A Naples & Manisha. Women's Activism and Globalization: Linking Struggles and Transnational Politics. New York: Routledge, 2002.
Thursday, February 10, 2011
Service Learning Proposal
Contact Information:
• Service Learning Proposal: Linking the Local to the Global, Working with Migrant Farm Workers
• Community Partner: The National Farm Worker Ministry and the Farmworkers Association of Florida.
• Group Members: Valerie Tindall
Community Partner/Global Theme Profile:
• Community Partner: We will be working with both the National Farm Worker Ministry, Contact: Lariza Garzón, P.O. Box 1589, Deland, FL 32771 – Telephone: (386) 738-2269 (386) 738-2269
The Farmworker Association of Florida, 815 South Park Avenue, Apopka, FL 32703 -- Telephone: (407) 886-5151 (407) 886-5151 – the Farmworkers Association of Florida work will mostly be with the Women to Women Conference.
• Research on Global Theme: Being a migrant farm worker is one of the most dangerous and worst-paying jobs in the country. Farmworkers endure impoverished living conditions, intensive physical labor, chronic pesticide exposure, racial discrimination and exploitation, deplorable wages with little or no benefits, and long working days in hazardous working conditions (http://www.floridafarmworkers.org). During peak season a farmworker handpicks three and a half tons of oranges while on a ladder, or bends over to pick up around 3,000 pounds of tomatoes and many of them do it while they are sick or pregnant, old or young because they can’t afford to take a day off. A farmworkers median yearly income was $6,250 according to the National Agricultural Survey. These farmworkers have no protection under the federal or state law so they can’t unionize, work overtime, take sick leave or apply for unemployment if they are laid off from their jobs. Agriculture is also not subjected to the same safety legislation that other industries are so they are not protected if they injure themselves on the job or get pesticide poisoning, which is very common (National Center for Farmworker Health).
• The National Farmworkers Ministry according to their website is a faith based organization supporting farm workers as they organize for justice. They are a body of member organizations that include 40 national, state and local religious bodies.
• The mission statement of FAWF is to “build power among farmworker and rural low-income communities to respond to and gain control over the social, political, workplace, economic, health, and environmental justice issues that impact their lives” (Farmworker Association of Florida). Our mission is to create several projects that will raise consciousness in our community, benefit women in the community, and gather resources for the organization.
The Project Proposal:
M E M O R A N D U M
To: Meredith L. Tweed
From: Valerie Tindall
Date: February 9, 2011
Subject: Proposal to Write a Feasibility Report for a Service Learning Project
• The Problem: Chances are if you eat any kind of fresh produce that is bought at a supermarket chain you are eating produce that was picked by a migrant farmworker. Being a migrant farmworker is one of the worst paying jobs in the US and also one of the most dangerous ones. They are constantly exposed to toxic chemicals; most live in poverty and can be laid off without a moment’s notice. Many of them also don’t have access to healthcare and if they do get sick, they aren’t able to take any time off because they can’t afford to. Our service learning project will help raise awareness in our community about the plight of the migrant farmworker and we also want to raise donations either monetary or useful items such as toiletries, household items, etc.
• Proposal: To fill these needs, our group will organize and participate in several events. There is a group of us that have talked about trying to set up a tabling event at a local Farmer’s Market. As we table, we will be soliciting donations for the farmworkers, whether they be monetary or toiletries or any other items they might need, we will get a list from FAWF. There is also a group that wants to host a symposium at The Center. We want this event to have two or three areas of concentration, most likely covering themes of environmental justice and immigration, this event will be designed to raise consciousness. We also are trying to get a carpool together to drive to Vero Beach to work in a community garden with these farmworkers. Lastly we are going to work at the Women to Women Conference taking notes, helping to set up/clean up and collecting donations.
• Rationale for Global and Transnational Feminisms: In our course text Women’s Activism and Globalization: Linking Local Struggles and Transnational Politics Naples and Desai state, the absence from national statistics of women’s unpaid work and informal labor continues to be a concern for feminist activists (p.21) and this informal activity is mostly immigrant women of color which is why there are no national statistics. A feature of the constant global economic restructuring has been the decline of organized labor and formal labor contracts, which is causing a growth in informal and part-time employment and a restructuring of women’s work (Naples p.11). According to The Farmworkers Association of Florida there are an estimated 4 million migrant farmworkers and about 1/5 of them are women and at least 100,000 are children. This project is going to help raise awareness of the problems these farmworkers face whether they are male or female, young or old.
• Our project is going to be broken up into groups based on what people want to specifically accomplish. I myself would like to try to set an event at a farmers market where we either actually set up a table there to solicit donations or just pass out flyers raising awareness for our cause. I also might be able to set up a tabling event at the Starbucks I work at where we can raise awareness and get donations and I can probably leave a box set up in my store so people can bring by their donations any time. I also am very interested in making the trip to Vero Beach to work alongside these women in their community garden and I am pretty sure I will be going to the Women to Women Conference to help out. There is also a group who wants to organize a symposium to raise awareness about migrant farmworkers, environmental justice and immigration.
• Timeline: March: select a few weekends to table at Farmers Market and/or set up event at Starbucks.
March 26th: Women to Women Conference
April: Vero Beach Trip and possibly Symposium.
• My responsibilities: I would definitely like to be involved in the Women to Women Conference and setting up some event to solicit donations and raise awareness. I am also very interested in going to Vero Beach to work in the community garden.
Word Count: 1,149
Works Cited:
Naples, Nancy A. "Changing the Terms: Community Activism, Globalization, and the Dilemmas of Transnational Feminist Praxis." Ed. Nancy A. Naples and Manisha Desai. Women's Activism and Globalization: Linking Local Struggles and Transnational Politics. New York: Routledge, 2002. 3-14. Print.
Farmworkers Association of Florida. Web. 10 Feb. 2011.
http://www.floridafarmworkers.org).
National Center for Farmworker Health
• Service Learning Proposal: Linking the Local to the Global, Working with Migrant Farm Workers
• Community Partner: The National Farm Worker Ministry and the Farmworkers Association of Florida.
• Group Members: Valerie Tindall
Community Partner/Global Theme Profile:
• Community Partner: We will be working with both the National Farm Worker Ministry, Contact: Lariza Garzón, P.O. Box 1589, Deland, FL 32771 – Telephone: (386) 738-2269 (386) 738-2269
The Farmworker Association of Florida, 815 South Park Avenue, Apopka, FL 32703 -- Telephone: (407) 886-5151 (407) 886-5151 – the Farmworkers Association of Florida work will mostly be with the Women to Women Conference.
• Research on Global Theme: Being a migrant farm worker is one of the most dangerous and worst-paying jobs in the country. Farmworkers endure impoverished living conditions, intensive physical labor, chronic pesticide exposure, racial discrimination and exploitation, deplorable wages with little or no benefits, and long working days in hazardous working conditions (http://www.floridafarmworkers.org). During peak season a farmworker handpicks three and a half tons of oranges while on a ladder, or bends over to pick up around 3,000 pounds of tomatoes and many of them do it while they are sick or pregnant, old or young because they can’t afford to take a day off. A farmworkers median yearly income was $6,250 according to the National Agricultural Survey. These farmworkers have no protection under the federal or state law so they can’t unionize, work overtime, take sick leave or apply for unemployment if they are laid off from their jobs. Agriculture is also not subjected to the same safety legislation that other industries are so they are not protected if they injure themselves on the job or get pesticide poisoning, which is very common (National Center for Farmworker Health).
• The National Farmworkers Ministry according to their website is a faith based organization supporting farm workers as they organize for justice. They are a body of member organizations that include 40 national, state and local religious bodies.
• The mission statement of FAWF is to “build power among farmworker and rural low-income communities to respond to and gain control over the social, political, workplace, economic, health, and environmental justice issues that impact their lives” (Farmworker Association of Florida). Our mission is to create several projects that will raise consciousness in our community, benefit women in the community, and gather resources for the organization.
The Project Proposal:
M E M O R A N D U M
To: Meredith L. Tweed
From: Valerie Tindall
Date: February 9, 2011
Subject: Proposal to Write a Feasibility Report for a Service Learning Project
• The Problem: Chances are if you eat any kind of fresh produce that is bought at a supermarket chain you are eating produce that was picked by a migrant farmworker. Being a migrant farmworker is one of the worst paying jobs in the US and also one of the most dangerous ones. They are constantly exposed to toxic chemicals; most live in poverty and can be laid off without a moment’s notice. Many of them also don’t have access to healthcare and if they do get sick, they aren’t able to take any time off because they can’t afford to. Our service learning project will help raise awareness in our community about the plight of the migrant farmworker and we also want to raise donations either monetary or useful items such as toiletries, household items, etc.
• Proposal: To fill these needs, our group will organize and participate in several events. There is a group of us that have talked about trying to set up a tabling event at a local Farmer’s Market. As we table, we will be soliciting donations for the farmworkers, whether they be monetary or toiletries or any other items they might need, we will get a list from FAWF. There is also a group that wants to host a symposium at The Center. We want this event to have two or three areas of concentration, most likely covering themes of environmental justice and immigration, this event will be designed to raise consciousness. We also are trying to get a carpool together to drive to Vero Beach to work in a community garden with these farmworkers. Lastly we are going to work at the Women to Women Conference taking notes, helping to set up/clean up and collecting donations.
• Rationale for Global and Transnational Feminisms: In our course text Women’s Activism and Globalization: Linking Local Struggles and Transnational Politics Naples and Desai state, the absence from national statistics of women’s unpaid work and informal labor continues to be a concern for feminist activists (p.21) and this informal activity is mostly immigrant women of color which is why there are no national statistics. A feature of the constant global economic restructuring has been the decline of organized labor and formal labor contracts, which is causing a growth in informal and part-time employment and a restructuring of women’s work (Naples p.11). According to The Farmworkers Association of Florida there are an estimated 4 million migrant farmworkers and about 1/5 of them are women and at least 100,000 are children. This project is going to help raise awareness of the problems these farmworkers face whether they are male or female, young or old.
• Our project is going to be broken up into groups based on what people want to specifically accomplish. I myself would like to try to set an event at a farmers market where we either actually set up a table there to solicit donations or just pass out flyers raising awareness for our cause. I also might be able to set up a tabling event at the Starbucks I work at where we can raise awareness and get donations and I can probably leave a box set up in my store so people can bring by their donations any time. I also am very interested in making the trip to Vero Beach to work alongside these women in their community garden and I am pretty sure I will be going to the Women to Women Conference to help out. There is also a group who wants to organize a symposium to raise awareness about migrant farmworkers, environmental justice and immigration.
• Timeline: March: select a few weekends to table at Farmers Market and/or set up event at Starbucks.
March 26th: Women to Women Conference
April: Vero Beach Trip and possibly Symposium.
• My responsibilities: I would definitely like to be involved in the Women to Women Conference and setting up some event to solicit donations and raise awareness. I am also very interested in going to Vero Beach to work in the community garden.
Word Count: 1,149
Works Cited:
Naples, Nancy A. "Changing the Terms: Community Activism, Globalization, and the Dilemmas of Transnational Feminist Praxis." Ed. Nancy A. Naples and Manisha Desai. Women's Activism and Globalization: Linking Local Struggles and Transnational Politics. New York: Routledge, 2002. 3-14. Print.
Farmworkers Association of Florida. Web. 10 Feb. 2011.
http://www.floridafarmworkers.org).
National Center for Farmworker Health
Monday, January 17, 2011
Introductory Letter
My name is Valerie Tindall and I am a native Floridian, born in Ft. Lauderdale but I’ve been in Orlando for the past six years. I’m the only native Floridian in my family and I’m the only one who hates the heat and would love to live in a place with four seasons. I am a junior at UCF, I took some time off from school to do some traveling and figure my life out, and I’ve accomplished the latter of the two. I am an Interdisciplinary Studies major with a focus in Women Studies and a minor in Communications, although the communications part might change soon. All my life I’ve wanted to do something creative whether it be with fashion, art, music or film but lately I’ve been questioning whether that’s enough and what kind of impact I would have on the world or at the very least my community. I feel like I need to make a difference somewhere and in other people’s lives but I just can’t figure out how yet. Slowly but surely my Women’s Studies classes are helping me to find my voice.
I decided to take this class because I’ve always had an interest in foreign affairs and policy especially how it affects women and I think this class will give me perspective on women’s issues around the world. In most countries women aren’t given a voice, and I think this will be an appropriate venue for those voices to be heard. Right now I would say I am most interested in learning about (in terms of transnational feminisms) violence against women laws abroad and reproductive health education for girls and women. These are two important topics to me because I have people close to me that have been affected by domestic violence and I don’t feel like the law was on their side and I would like to learn how violence against women is handled in other countries. As far as reproductive health goes, I think that it’s important for all women and girls to be more aware of their bodies and to have control over and understanding of themselves. I think the most difficult thing about learning how women organize worldwide will be learning all the foreign laws and culture that we as American’s couldn’t comprehend living with. It isn’t about making judgments on these people and their culture but to foster a better sense of the global world. I’m looking forward to acquiring a better understanding of the world around me and the global women’s movement with the help of this course and the thought-provoking discussions we will have in class.
I have read, understand, and agree to the terms of the course syllabus and the blogging protocols.
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