In celebration of 10 years of service, PASOs is proud to share the second in a series of ten stories highlighting our work in South Carolina. We invite you to share your own PASOs story via our Facebook page.
Duchett Polite is the Executive Director of Jasper County First Steps (JCFS), an organization that serves families with young children in order to improve school readiness and early childhood literacy. Duchett met PASOs’ Program Coordinator and Community Health Worker Yajaira Benet Uzcategui at a community meeting and quickly realized how beneficial a partnership could be for both agencies.
In the beginning, Duchett invited Yajaira, whose program site covers Beaufort and Jasper counties, to host monthly education sessions known as charlas at JCFS. Charlas enable PASOs staff and volunteers to connect with a large group of participants at once, addressing topical subjects such as healthy relationships, family planning, and infant safety. Charlas also allow community members to get to know one another and build a sense of connectivity so that they can learn from and rely on one another in times of need.
Duchett has witnessed some of the struggles that Latino families experience as result of living with inadequate access to resources. She understands how difficult it must be to parent and make important decisions with limited information. She believes that people need to access information in their most familiar language and that PASOs is able to provide that access. PASOs serves as a portal between the community and families who experience a language barrier, increasing opportunities for families to build a better life.
PASOs has made a tremendous impact in the life of one young mother in particular. Before this mother connected with PASOs, Duchett would describe her as shy and apprehensive. But since working with Yajaira, the mother has become a voice of strength and activism to bring about change in the Latino community. She has grown into a leadership role as a volunteer Promotora, or Community Health Worker, and through that role is able to share her experience and wisdom with other mothers who are experiencing the same struggles. “I saw a change in her,” says Duchett. “Her strength was already there, but PASOs helped to reveal that.”
Latinos comprise about 15% of Jasper County’s population and over 25% the population under 5 years old. The need for well-rounded services for Latino children and families in this community will continue to grow, and if Duchett has anything to say about it, so will her partnership with PASOs.
PASOs is a community-based organization whose vision is a healthy South Carolina with a healthy Latino community. PASOs provides education, family support services, organizational capacity building and community leadership development.
