The Rainbow Project and AFFW Help Girls Shine

By: Sandy Gehler
I recently had the pleasure of meeting with Sharyl Kato and Celia Huerta of The Rainbow Project. The Rainbow Project received a grant from A Fund for Women in 2009 for $19,700 to be used for a project called Madres y Hijas (Mothers and Daughters).

The Rainbow Project is a child and family counseling and resource clinic that serves families with young children, primarily ages ten and under in Dane County and the surrounding areas. The organization provides a unique blend of services for children and families who have experienced stress or trauma.

The curriculum used for the Madres y Hijas project was "Yo Soy! Yo Soy Unica! (I am! I am Unique!)" The curriculum focuses on Latina girls to assist them in embracing their culture and taking pride in who they are. The program involves the participants' mothers, grandmothers and/or guardians so they can learn to support their daughters and help them make good decisions when challenged by peer pressure and media influences.

The eight-session program was recently conducted at Midvale Elementary School for a small group of Latina girls in second grade. Huerta and Anita Herrera, facilitators of the program, are planning a session at Leopold Elementary School for third and fourth graders and an elementary school in Sun Prairie for fifth and sixth graders in the near future. Parents of the students at Midvale Elementary expressed their gratitude for a program that involved them in the process and provided resources in Spanish. The parents also appreciated the opportunity to discuss their specific parenting issues with the group.

Since 2005 Kato says there has been an increasing level of frustration for families that are in need of support systems in the Spanish-speaking community. In addition, there is an increasing amount of research and data on the dropout rate of Latina girls as well as increases in substance abuse, depression and teen pregnancy. The "Yo Soy! Yo Soy Unica!" program offered The Rainbow Project a way to reach out to young Latina girls to provide a program that talks about their cultural identity, self esteem and bullying at a younger age.

When asked about the outreach to interest schools in the program, Kato noted that there is such a need for this type of intervention for Latina girls that they have not had to "advertise" the program but rather have schools requesting it.

The Rainbow Project Wish List 2010: Portable photo printer, gas gift cards, individually packaged snack items, portable CD players, dress up clothing and accessories, Tonka size toy trucks and vehicles, copy paper, cardstock paper in various colors, modeling clay, super balls, silly putty, stickers, hair accessories, gift certificates (haircuts, restaurants, movies, etc.).

This is not an all-inclusive list of the Rainbow Project Wish List—please see their website at www.rainbowproject.bizland.com.