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| Marilu Castillo, who immigrated
to the United States in the 1970s, helps Hispanic families in
Clinton County make the transition into U.S. culture through
her work as a family advocate at Head Start, one of the many
community agencies that Purdue Extension partners with to serve
Indiana’s growing Hispanic population. |
Marilu Castillo moved to the United States from
Matamoros, Mexico, in the 1970s with her husband Victor, so he could
begin work at Exide Corp. in Frankfort, Ind. At the time, the 19-year-old
young woman knew that relocating to the United States offered the
couple a better way of life, but living 1,500 miles from her family
and in a new culture was one of the hardest challenges she ever
faced.
While her husband worked, Castillo stayed within
the confines of their home; outside was a world that was foreign
and hard to understand. Castillo didn’t speak English, so
she couldn’t get a job.
“Hispanics typically stay to themselves,”
says Castillo, now a family advocate with Frankfort’s Head
Start program. “It takes awhile for us to feel comfortable
because of the language barrier. When I first came here, I didn’t
watch television because I couldn’t understand what was going
on, and I didn’t like American food. Instead, I spent much
of my time writing letters to my family in Mexico.”
Paving the way
After her first year in Frankfort, Marilu learned
English from a local bilingual woman, which opened the door for
her to get a GED and a job. And now, through her work, she helps
pave the way for Hispanic families so that they make the transition
into U.S. culture easier than she did.
Castillo was invited to be a part of the 2002
class of Leadership Clinton County by Susan Tharp, Purdue Extension
educator in Clinton County. The program brings area leaders from
diverse backgrounds to address community challenges. Castillo’s
class created a video to welcome Hispanics and introduce them to
the area’s hospitals, government agencies, schools, churches
and community services. Purdue Extension then helped produce the
video, which is available at local public and community service
agencies.
Clinton County also offers a conversational Spanish
class for local medical professionals, law enforcement, community
leaders and government officials. More than 300 residents have taken
the course and learned the basic terminology for everyday language
and their profession.
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