|
|
|
Walking To A New Day Original Gouache Height: 16" Width: 20" Price: NFS **Winner in the 2004 César Chávez Memorial Education Project** Link to booklet Here |
| WALKING TO A NEW DAY By: Phinit Cheamak ~ CTA Sponsor: Dr. Ken Koenigshofer, Ph.D.
I walk to school every day, toward the pretty morning sunrise. My parents are working in the strawberry fields. They get up early every day so I have to feed my little brothers and sisters before I go to school. After that I take care of the camp where my family stays; then I hurry to school. Sometimes I'm late and other times I cannot go at all because my little brother is often sick from the allergies he has to the pesticides. He gets burned from them and develops skin wounds on his body. It makes me very sad. Still. I have a dream to have an education so that I can help the farmers to learn how to protect themselves from pesticides and to join together as a group so that they can ask for more money and safe working conditions and a nice camp to sleep in. The farmers don't speak English; mainly Spanish.they are very poor. They have no car, no house, and have to move from place to place. They are migrants. When I walk to school, I pass by the people who are working and I see the beautiful crops that they are growing every day. They work in the sun and have to wear big hats to protect their skin. Some people still get skin cancer and are damaged from the pesticides. Their bodies are bent all day long. They go back and forth to lift the boxes and pick the crop during the harvest time. They are just employees.they have never owned their own land. They work so hard.for so little money. It is a difficult life. I will help these people.for they are my family. They are my family of farm workers who provide the food for my country to eat. And as I walk to school.toward a new day.I walk toward my future. I will help my people and the generations to come will suffer less because of my work. My name is Cesar Chavez. Today is my birthday. Chaffey College 5885 Haven Avenue Rancho Cucamonga, CA 91737 |