The organization “Puentes” is mentioned in the book “Milked”. We are fortunate to have Mercedes Falk, the director of Puentes/Bridges, with us on February 23rd. She will share the vision of the organization and her experiences with bridging cultures and people to find common ground. Background: In 1999, Carl Duley, Buffalo county’s UW-Extension agricultural agent, saw the need to bridge the communication gap between local farmers and their Mexican employees. He approached Shaun Duvall, the local high school Spanish teacher at the time, about this need. She began teaching Spanish and interpreting for local farmers and quickly learned that interpreting alone wasn’t enough.
In 2001, Shaun led a trip to Mexico with fifteen farmers for two weeks. During this trip, they immersed themselves in Spanish language classes, cultural immersion experiences, and visits with employees’ families. John Rosenow, one of the farmers on the trip, said it was life-changing for him and upon returning home, he wanted to do whatever he could to make it happen again. He and Shaun put their heads together and in 2003, they officially incorporated Puentes as a non-profit.
Over the last two decades, the trips have evolved into a full-on immersion experience that focuses on visiting the families of employees working on dairy farms in Wisconsin and Minnesota. Well over 150 farmers, educators, and people from all walks of life in the U.S. have taken trips to Mexico to see and understand the lives of those who have made the hard decision to leave their families and come to the US to work.
PLEASE MARK YOUR CALENDARS AND PLAN ON COMING TO HEAR ABOUT PUENTES AFTER WORSHIP ON FEBRUARY 23RD.
More information about can be found at their website: puentesbridges.org/
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