Maria Romero and Narangan Bassi are unlikely collaborators. Romero is a Catholic Mexican from the state of Jalisco in Mexico who speaks little English and spends up to twelve hours a day picking crops. Bassi is an East Indian Sikh from the Punjab region of India who speaks a native dialect and works nights in the canneries. However, these two women, along with dozens of other native Latino and East Indian parents, are allied today because they felt that schools in Yuba County were not meeting the educational needs of their children. Maria Romero has two children in grammar school. She believes farm worker youth have special needs that must be considered when designing educational programs and policies. Bassi also believes farm worker students suffer because educators don’t understand the obstacles they must overcome. To defend farm worker students, Romero and Bassi organized the Migrant Parents Advisory Committee (MPAC) and began protesting policies that they felt adversely affected their children. In the process they created a dynamic multicultural, trilingual advocacy group that is building self-esteem for both parents and children in and around Yuba City, ending years of migrant parent acquiescence and isolation.
