Barbara Bush to Honor Latina Outreach Group

It must have been a strange sight to the Latinas arriving at a Santa Ana clinic for a free gynecological examination: A rummage sale in the parking lot where other women were selling old clothes and shoes to make money for their fledgling organization.

That was eight years ago, when the county chapter of the Mexican American Women’s National Assn. needed money to continue sponsoring the free exams that have been offered each spring since then. More than 300 needy Latinas, many of whom had never had a Pap smear and most of whom did not speak English, have been helped through the clinics.

“They have the ability to reach that person who would not usually get care,” said Dr. David Lujan, an Orange physician who volunteered to work in this year’s clinic in April. “They are fulfilling a role here that is not served” by the medical community.

Today, the county group will be honored by its parent organization in Washington for sponsoring the clinics. Among those attending the awards luncheon will be First Lady Barbara Bush.

“We really feel like we are coming of age,” said Irene Martinez, president of the county chapter of the group, which goes by the name MANA.

It is the only organization of Latinas in the county, where at least 155,000 Latinas live, Martinez said. The group’s 110 members range from homemakers to business executives, though most are professional women.

The free clinics were one of the first projects organized by MANA, which has since developed programs to try to fight the skyrocketing high-school dropout rate among Latinas and to encourage more Latinas to become leaders.

Next month, MANA will be holding its second annual leadership conference for Latinas at the Southwest Senior Center in Santa Ana. The event will include workshops in both English and Spanish on such subjects as cultural transition, motivation and non-traditional careers. County Supervisor Gaddi H. Vasquez will speak about the political empowerment of Latinos.

‘To Share the Skills’

“One of the things we really want to get into,” said Evelyn Colon-Becktell, a MANA board member, “is to promote development and leadership in our women. We want to share the skills we have gotten so that they don’t have to start from scratch like we did.”

Another important issue for MANA is education, Martinez said. Nationally, statistics indicate that about half of all Latinos drop out of high school.

Martinez said the dropout rate is even higher among Latinas, who are often kept out of school to care for younger siblings or those who get pregnant as teen-agers.

Last year, MANA began a mentor program called the Hermanitas Project (Spanish for little sisters ), in which 50 Santa Ana High School students were paired with MANA members who are role models, counselors and friends. This year, the program is expanding to 250 students from the Santa Ana district and will include a youth leadership conference in November, field trips and awards.

“We hope,” said Martha Gallegos, MANA’s vice president and a census outreach supervisor for Santa Ana, “they will turn to an organization like MANA when they need assistance, whether it’s a problem at school or with their home life. We know what they’re going through, and we’re here to help them.”

MANA also hopes to work with the families of these girls, because there is often a reluctance in the Latino culture to allow young women to leave home for college or a new job.

‘Helping to Educate Parents’

“You either let go of them when they get married or you don’t let go at all,” said Martinez, director of programs and marketing for Orange County Community Consortium Inc. in Santa Ana. “These are the types of things that MANA can help address by helping to educate parents.”

But even when parents are persuaded to let their daughters go, it is often with some hostility. In those cases, MANA members can confer with each other.

Gallegos said: “It’s a real support group. (Latinas) come to the point where they are breaking away from some traditions, and they sometimes don’t get support from their families. In MANA, you are among other women who are accepting you as family and giving you that support.”