Opportunidad by Yesica Huerta

After spending hours on the phone fielding calls from immigrant women in crisis, Yesica takes a moment to reflect on how she became an advocate. She shares poignant memories of the strength instilled in her by both her grandmother and her mother, who supported her education and made clear to her the value of independence. Yesica wants the women she assists to have the same opportunities that her mother and grandmother did, to support their children and provide them with a better life. This story was made in a workshop facilitated by StoryCenter (http://www.storycenter.org) and funded by the Women's Foundation of California (http://www.womensfoundca.org).

Script (translated from Spanish):

It's nine thirty in the morning and the phone is ringing non-stop.

I feel overwhelmed and worried about the high number of calls from all over the country.

When I answer, Rosa tells me that she works in the cherry fields in the state of Michigan. She is an undocumented single mother and she is very scared. She wants to know about her rights and how to protect her family. After listening to her story, I couldn't help but wonder why I got involved in this movement.

I grew up around enterprising and independent women. My grandmother and my mother. My grandmother was a survivor of domestic violence, but her integrity and strength were one of the virtues that I always admired about her.

My grandmother sold fresh fruits and vegetables at the town market. Many people knew her not because she was very affectionate but because of her unique sense of humor.

When my sister and I came home from kindergarten, we always went to the market stand and gave her a hug. I still remember the smell of vegetables impregnated in her apron. It was a very peculiar and special smell.

My grandmother showed her love by being very overprotective of us when she saw me with boys in The square was getting closer and she told me, go, go home, your mother needs you.

My mother protected us in another way, she was my 1st and 2nd grade teacher in elementary school. And she was very strict and assertive, by the way.

she taught me to read and write and made sure that I had a decent education. She taught me much more than that.

I always carry these words in my mind:

“I want you to study, to be someone in life, to have your career and never depend on a man.”

The protection of my grandmother and the unconditional support of my mother fed my spirit to defend the rights of immigrant women like Rosa.

And thousands of women who work for a minimum wage to support their families, these women deserve to have the same opportunity to be able to support their families with dignity.

And to be able to provide their children with a better life, just like my mother and my grandmother did with me.