LatinaLista — According the U.S. Census, 41.2 million people have some level of disability.
Having a disability makes getting needed services or specialized equipment or finding just the right information hard enough but when that’s compounded with language barriers or cultural stigmas it’s a whole lot harder.
For Latino families in California, Texas and New Mexio who have children who are disabled in some way, trying to find the needed services for their loved ones can be a doubly frustrating experience if it wasn’t for Fiesta Educativa.
Established in 1978, Fiesta Educativa works with Latino families who have loved ones with special needs.
Their mission and vision is to empower Latino families and individuals with disabilities in California and across the United States by partnering with families, professionals, consumers, friends, agencies and key decision-makers to engender universal support of local, state and national programs and services that specifically support and enhance the lives of persons with disabilities
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Through parent training, community outreach, advocacy efforts, the sponsor of training and educational workshops and hosting an annual bilingual parent/professionals conference, Fiesta Educativa works overtime to increase the awareness of medical professionals and educators about the cultural characteristics and unique needs of Latino children and their families. Fiesta Educativa also works on expanding and developing culturally sensitive programs and services.
With the amount of programs, services and outreach Fiesta Educativa does there is always a need for donations. Recently, they were the grateful recipients of a specially equipped wheelchair minivan owned by the late actor Ricardo Montalbán.
Fiesta Educativa plans to use the van to assist families who have loved ones with disabilities in transporting those family members, but the need for donations still exist because the work never stops:
