Empowering the Latino Community
September 19, 2024
Embracing Latino culture, from the organization’s name to how it provides services, is significant to PaTi’s Libelulas, a Latina-led Waterloo nonprofit. Executive Director Claudia Rivera understands the struggles immigrant families experience and opened the cultural center to advocate for, educate, and empower Latinas and Latinos.
"PaTi's Libelulas is just a place to gather, connect, and bring awareness to others of what's going on because sometimes there's a huge disconnect because of the language barrier," said Claudia. "You don't know what's going on in your community or you don't get important information. That's what we are trying to do here and make a difference."
According to Claudia, Latinos are one of the fastest-growing populations in Waterloo, filling critical workforce needs and bringing money to the community despite the disparities they encounter. The organization assists families and individuals in overcoming the language barrier, navigating social and civic systems, and better understanding the community where they live.
"One of the most important services is the ESL classes, English as a second language, because it's always about the language barrier," said Claudia, who is also a member of Advancing Equity in the Cedar Valley's multicultural task force that is working to address the language barrier for all immigrant and refugee groups. "It's hard to communicate with other people and to understand what's going on if you don't have that connection of communication because of the misunderstanding of the language."
Overcoming differences is part of building a stronger community for everyone. Claudia believes connection to different cultures is essential. "The United States is a place where people come from different backgrounds, and it's good to understand where people are coming from. The way you can connect is to be part of that community or talk to that community, talk to people, meet new people, and learn about other cultures. We're in a land where you see every different type of people in different cultures and the beauty of community is the differences between everybody."
PaTi’s Libelulas received its first grant ever from the Community Foundation of Northeast Iowa, a $20,000 Black Hawk County grant in 2022 to help the new organization strengthen the Cedar Valley by empowering the Latino community.
"It's been a struggle as a new organization," said Claudia. "Being a founder of color and Latina is difficult and having people take you seriously is always something that takes a lot of hard work. Having, the Foundation take a chance on us made a huge difference and they continue to help us grow."
