Language: Spanish

Lucia made this story for a series of workshops on education sponsored by the Boston YWCA. She uses the piece frequently in her work as a community organizer to stimulate dialogue among parents about participation in the school system.

Julia reveals how she used her own personal experience with domestic violence to encourage other women in her neighborhood to seek help. This story is used as an organizing tool around family violence in the North End of Springfield, Massachusetts.

This story talks about a woman who was born and raised in Honduras and at an early age dedicated herself to working hard and getting an education. She worked for 35 years with children who had mental disabilities. After her retirement she became depressed and lonely and decided to move to the States where she settled in Springfield, MA with her daughter. She had a hard time meeting people because she spoke no English. She decided to find a community with more Hispanics and came across a church where they spoke Spanish.

This story talks about a man who was from Puerto Rico and was drinking too much. His parents sent him to New York to try and change his lifestyle but continued with his drinking there as well. He then moved to Springfield and went to church to try and find guidance. Since then he has found god and continues to go to church. He has since become a pastor. He sends a message to all the youth out there and says that if you have god in your life he will help guide you in the right direction.

This story talks about a woman named Alba who was born and raised in Puerto Rico and then moved to Springfield, MA. She talks about how everyone in life has potential to succeed in life if you put your mind to it. She says it is important to be a good example for your kids. She talks about her struggles in life when she was working full time and going to school at night. How her sacrifices paid off when she graduated college with a bachelor's degree in psychology and was able to purchase her own home.

Eugenia created this story as part of a YWCABoston initiative to create dialogue around environmental justice issues. Eugenia has used this story is community organizing workshops with parents in her neighborhood to call attention to the problem of asbestos in the public schools.

In this story, Bea explains how she had to postpone her long awaited dream of visiting NYC because of September 11th. Bea created this story as part of a train the trainer workshop in Vilanova i la Geltrú, Spain. She works at the local public libary and plans to implement digital storytelling into her work there.