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We are excited about our September 23 Fiesta Justicia/Party for Justice–and we hope our members and friends are excited too.

But we all know justice isn’t free! The work of CoFiA is growing every year, from the regular Monday lunches in the cold weather, to labor intensive wage theft investigations, workers’ link job placements, assistance for individuals with all kinds of emergencies and special needs. And most recently our big investment in the work of our Community Organizer who has enlisted the efforts of a whole new group of CoFiA members in our work for justice.

Can you help? Here is an easy way to pitch in–purchase space or a listing in the program for the party–a small 8 1/2 by 5 1/2 inch book, with modest prices. One page, $600; half page, $300; one-third page (business card) $100. And listings in several categories–Advocate, $500+; Supporter, $300+; Promoter, $100+; Friend, $50+.

Material must be camera ready and may be sent to marbwhite@aol.com by September 15. Call if you have questions–201-833-1737.

And thanks!

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Believe in what CoFiA is doing? We are making it easier for you to spread the word with our new t-shirts and bumper stickers. Both will be available for purchase at Fiesta Justicia/Party for Justice on Friday, September 23, 2016, at the American Legion Hall in Leonia. T-shirts are $20 (discount for CoFiA card-carrying members), bumper stickers, $3. If you have to miss the fiesta but would like a shirt or a sticker, let us know and we’ll figure out how to get it to you.

CoFiA is honored to present to our audience at the Fiesta Justicia/Party for Justice on Friday, September 23, 2016, at the American Legion Hall, 399 Broad Avenue in Leonia, a very special group–Marimba Maria Bonita. A group much in demand in our area, they have graciously agreed to perform for us pro bono to support the work of the Community of Friends in Action.

The marimba is Guatemala’s national instrument, playing such a central role in the culture of Guatemala that the government erected a marimba monument in Quetzaltenango. Marimba bands became popular in Guatemala in the 1800’s and musicians brought it to the U.S. in the early 1900’s.

Members of Marimba Maria Bonita include Walter Camaja, Pedro Melchor, Basilio Rodriguez, Juan Jose Camaja, Calistro Rodriguez, Diego Garcia, and others. Many thanks to all for your generosity. For more information about the group go to their Facebook page. You can also plan to attend one of their upcoming concerts–Saturday, September 2, in Plainfield, NJ., Saturday, September 10, in Palisades Park, honoring Independence Day in Guatemala, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Honduras and Nicaragua; and Saturday, September 24 in Riverhead, NY.

Our multicultural Fiesta Justicia/Party for Justice features three bands playing very different styles of American music. In addition to the rock-and-roll Still Standing group and Marimba Maria Bonita, we will feature a new group, Talento Juvenil. Talento Juvenil, organized by CoFiA member Joselino Chocoj, plays various styles of Mexican music, including duranguense, which is closely related to banda and norteno. In addition to the more traditional sax, trombone, and bass drum, duranguense incorporates synthesizers. Members are Juan Antonio Martin, Jose Manuel Martin, Sergio Cana Soto, Jose Amibzar Jacobo, Vicente De La Cruz, Benjamin Rodriguez, and Joselino Chocoj.

CoFiA members and friends are familiar with Joselino Chocoj who was the organizer of a traditional Guatemalan dance group, and is also a singer, song-writer, and guitar player. We are pleased that he is sharing this most recent endeavor, which provides opportunities for performance to a group of young people.

Over the years a number of members of CoFiA have gone to Guatemala to visit or to help with projects. While it always makes us sad that our Guatemalan friends cannot go to visit their friends and family, we are happy to have these glimpses of life there.

This year has been an especially turbulent time. Hundreds of campesinos marched to the capital for 12 days to plead with Congress and the government for their right to clean water and to land. They reminded the government that 97% of the water in the country is contaminated and desertification is reaching 19% of the country because of actions by the agro industrial industries. The economy of the country is so devastated that many people–maybe as many as 70%–have been forced to migrate at one time or another. We know many of them, here is Bergen County.

Because of this situation, which is the result of collusion between international corporations and the Guatemalan government, there are far too few schools. Several CoFiA members have gone with groups like Hug it Forward to help build schools. Here is an account by Carolyn Sobering, former chair of CoFiA, of her experience this summer–her third trip:

I dream of a world where every child has the opportunity to get an education, and to create a better life for themselves and for their families. Hug It Forward is the non-profit group I worked with in Guatemala as a member of the team that helped to build the 75th bottle school. The whole community participates in the project – children gather plastic bottles, families stuff the bottles with inorganic trash which are then used as eco-bricks for the walls of the schools, and fathers, uncles and grandfathers work on construction. Bottle schools are much less expensive to build than traditional schools, they clean up the environment, teach lessons about environmental sustainability, and involve the entire community in their construction, resulting in a sense of pride and ownership.

I was involved in each step of the project: mixing cement, stuffing bottles, painting and celebrating with the community as their dream of a school became a reality. It was an amazing experience!

Why is CoFiA sponsoring a “Fiesta Justicia” or “Party for Justice”? We need to raise money for our work in improving the lives of immigrants and in trying to have a better immigration policy. Why? Because in both Guatemala and the U.S. justice is under attack, and many people are suffering.

One of our ally groups is Grupo Cajola’ based in Cajola’, Guatemala, and Morristown, NJ. Since 2000, this group has worked to develop sustainable industries in Cajola’.

At “Fiesta Justicia/Party for Justice” participants will have the opportunity to purchase beautiful woven goods made by Maya Mam weavers.

Here is some information from the Grupo Cajola’ newsletter: Sustainable development is about providing startup capital and on-going training to a group interested in working in a cooperative style business. Our over reaching goal is to create employment without the need to cross the border! We have launched two businesses to date, The Best Egg-Laying Hens of Cajola’ and Talent Tree Carpentry of Cajola’. We are still nurturing a women’s weaving cooperative, Maya Mam Weavers, and have recently started a honeybee business, Honey of Cajola’.

The on-going training is technical, depending on the needs of the business; administrative, to develop the skills to independently run the business; and equally importantly, how to work well in a group. As Maya we are committed to working as a cooperative.

Since there have not been any other businesses offering regular employment or management skills until now in Cajola’, the process for each group to develop all the necessary skills to be able to independently run their business is a long term process. Grupo Cajola’ is committed to accompany the businesses until they achieve this independence.

http://www.northjersey.com/news/immigrant-advocacy-group-works-to-sign-up-voters-in-palisades-park-1.1645232

Monsy Alvarado of the Bergen RECORD published an article on CoFIA’s registration drive held on Saturday, August 13, 2016, in Palisades Park. Standing in the heat outside Grace Evangelical Lutheran Church, the volunteers registered five people and gathered 18 signatures on a petition supporting legislation that would allow immigrants without documents to get a New Jersey driver’s license.

Click on the address above to read the full article.

CoFiA is happy to report that our friends, the Still Standing Band, have accepted our invitation to perform once again on our fall fund-raising fiesta. The group, which is well-known in Eastern Bergen County, is made up of Bob Daria on drums, Howie Bowe on bass, guitar and vocals, Peggy Ehrhart on guitar and bass, and Steve Wortman on keyboards, harmonica, and vocals.

Still Standing Band plays a mix of blues, sixties rock, rock and roll, and country. A lively addition to our multicultural evening of music and dancing!

In the winter when CoFiA offers a free lunch once a week in Palisades Park, we sometimes heard complaints that there was too much litter on the corner of Broad and Homestead Streets, where our host church, Grace Evangelical Lutheran, is located. While we had observed that it was not just our group that was doing it, we wanted to be good neighbors so we asked one of the workers to clean up the area from time to time. He has been doing it–three times a DAY!–ever since. It certainly looks better.

But we also realized that one of the problems was the lack of a garbage receptacle on that corner. There is a bus kiosk there, and a lot of foot traffic, so we felt that having somewhere convenient to dispose of trash would help.

We reached out to the Department of Public Works in Palisades Park which accepted our request and quietly placed one of the town receptacles there! Thanks to everyone for working together on a small but important project!

A team of CoFiA members braved the heat on Saturday, August 13, 2016, to register voters in Palisades Park. In addition to registering, a number of visitors signed petitions to ask the NJ Legislature to make it possible for people without documents to get drivers licenses in New Jersey.

A big thanks to the volunteers and to Saydy Tuanama, who organized the event. Let us know if you would like to be invited to a future opportunity.