A friendly message from Irene:

 

It's a blessing to have the ¡Si Se Puede! as a tool of communication, I'll take advantage of this medium to share with you my experience at the ENLACES Skills Building replication conducted by the ENCA (ENLACES en California ) training group. The training was held in Hayward , CA on August 2-4, 2006 .

In my experience as member of the ENLACES team, this ENLACES replication has been one of the most spectacular events we have seen to date. Maria Aguilar, Maria Prieto, Luis E. Ciprez, Jesus Moreno and Josie Díaz are the five Super Latinos from California who graduated as ENLACES Trainers in October 2005. Consequently, they created the ENCA team and with the support of the ENLACES team, shared their skills and delivered the replication training to Latinos living in the Hayward area. The main purpose of the training was to increase the Latino participation in HIV prevention planning groups.

Maria Chaparro, ENLACES Project Coordinator, and I started our adventure when we flew to the city of Hayward , CA . We were so exited to get to meet the ENLACES' latest protégé— the ENCA team . Our job was to provide technical assistance and support to the ENCA team, but more than anything we wanted to witness the ENCAS' first solo training replication. From day one, I immediately felt confident that the training was going to be a success! Through ENCA's great skills, knowledge, enthusiasm and humility, they were able to guide the participants and create an atmosphere of learning and trust. The ENLACES replication participants included key persons such as: community leaders, transgender representatives from the CPG, health department representatives, promotoras and community members living with HIV/AIDS—all of them anxious to support the prevention planning groups.

With the knowledge of ENCA team, the participants had the opportunity to share and to learn some of the barriers Latinos/Hispanics face in the HIV prevention planning. The ENCA team shared with the participants their experiences on how ENLACES provided them with support to achieve Parity, Inclusion, and Representation (PIR) in their prevention groups. Members of the ENCA team have now been included in the prevention planning process, their votes have been validated and their voices heard.

I want to acknowledge the ENCA team for expressing their love towards their Latino community. A special “Thanks” to the Field Work Supervisor, Raymundo Elias Anthony, MSW, from California State University, East Bay, Hayward, CA. Mr. Anthony kindly provided the training space to bring the ENLACES replication to the Bay Area.

 

Sincerely,
Irene Muñiz
Project ENLACES Liaison