Edith Arriaga
Edith is originally from Tingo Maria in the Republica del Peru. This charming city is also known as la ciudad de la bella durmiente named after the mountains that shape a sleeping maiden. As Edith said, “Somos los primeros valientes (we are the first brave ones)” to make their way from South America to the United States.
Edith and her family’s journey started in 2001, when she immigrated with her husband to California with their 3 years old daughter. In the United States, they started a cleaning business and welcomed a son. Edith has had the privilege to raise two children in this country. Her older daughter is now a psychologist.
Through her church, she got involved in the AMY promotores program. She loved the idea from the beginning, for she loves to help her community. She started taking the AMY classes and got involved as a volunteer. She has also volunteered with Providence helping with their mental health programs. At the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, she was very afraid to go out. But with patience, she has regained more confidence and trust in preventive measures. By taking care of her own physical mental health, she focuses on enjoying every moment even in the midst of a pandemic.
As a food promotora, she loves to see the excitement in the faces of the families that receive the food boxes. By seeing how happy the families are with their food boxes, she forgets all the hard work including scheduling all the deliveries and making sure there is enough space in her car. The food boxes make her happy, too. When some families need some extra time to talk about their needs, she gladly listens to them. She enjoys seeing how the word spreads around resources and events through the flyers that she includes in the boxes or the collaboration between organizations.
Edith knows that it is important to understand all the different cultures among Latinos. However, we have a great unifier: Spanish. She states how important it is to stay united and never forget about our roots. She tells her children to never forget where they came from and be generous to your own people.