Mrs Frances Schoen-Newspaper Room
U n iv e r s it y o f Oregon L ib r a r y
tu g e n e , Oregon 97403
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a i r PuNuhtng Co . Ine IW H
by Leon Harris
For more than 32 years. Community Care has fed, clothed and shel
tered impoverished families in Portland and throughout Oregon. Irrespec
tive of race or color, thousands have been recipients of this outstanding
organization's desire to help the needy. Under the direction of Clara Peo
ples founder and director, Community Care received no support rom
governmental agencies. Its resources were a result of donations from local
merchants and farmers.
Every Tuesday and Thursday, hundreds lined up at 15th and Ainsworth
in N E Portland to receive contributions of milk, bread, vegetables, fruit,
cheese and meats, when available. Community Care received more than its
share of requests for help to pay utilities, rent, and meet other family e.ner-
Qnmp families were helped, some were not. The agency s
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Even more tragic was the absence ot insurance un me .uuu.u.u.
munity Care and Clara Peoples lost everything The fire occurred while
Ms. Peoples was in another part of the state collecting donations to feed
the hungry.
The Portland Observer has established a special fund to help Commu
nity Care and Clara Peoples. The address of the Observer is 5011 N.E.26th,
Portland, Oregon, 97211. The telephone number is 503-288-0033. We can
think of no cause more worthy than one which would ensure the survival
of Community Care. The Observer appeals to you for community support.
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All cash donations should be forwarded to First Interstate Bank, Walnut
Park Branch, P.O. Box 11346, Portland, Oregon, 97211, Attn: Community
Care. Other items for donation will be accepted at the Portland Observer,
5011 N.E. 26th, Portland, Oregon, 97211, (503)288-0033.
a . , . Peoples whose hon.« was g u ...d by . f i r . S .w r d .y t o . no. ye. given up on providing for th u s. in need.
Photo by Richard J . Brown
Mireya Lucero
Patriot for El Salvador
Although only 25 years old, Ms. Lucero has endured years or oeprr
vation and sacrifice. She has survived countless bombing raids and the
repeated loss of her home.
Nine of her relatives - aunts, uncles, nephews and one brothe „
have been killed by government forces. An elder sister was ¿.sappeared.
They number among over 63,000 Salvadorans, mainly civilians, who have
been killed and 5,000 who have been "disappeared” since the war began in
El Salvador, a country the size of the state of Massachussets. In the U.S.,
that would translate into two and a half million citizens murdered.
Mireya was born to peasant farmers in Potonico, Chalatenango.
peasants of Chalatenango are among the poorest in a poor country w ere
one in four children below the age of five dies from malnutrition and infec
tious diseases. Landlessness, poverty and illiteracy, compounded by the
war, have eroded the social fabric of communities in Chalatenango and
elsewhere throughout El Salvador.
Mireya's parents instilled in her a deep religious faith and encouraged
her to complete high school despite the lack of adequate schooling in the
area Mireya began her commitment to social justice when she became
involved in the Christian Base Communities, a movement that sprung up in
Central America in the 1960's and 70's to find solutions to the problems of
poverty and inequality faced by peasants. As part of th ,s movement,
Mireya travelled throughout Chalatenango with a group of religious wor
ers while still only a teenager.
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At the age of 16, when she entered the 10th grade, Mireya beg
working side by side with her people, organizing campaigns to better th
quality of education, lower tuition costs for students obtain fair wages o
teachers and improve the working conditions of families in her commun y.
She went on to organize other peasant communities, working in
villages such as Aguilares, where Father R u lilio G r.n d . « K IP ™ * honored
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Mireya Lucero, a Salvadoran woman ruun..H u.o
met with a group of women over breakfast at the Red ea t i°P'
Restaurant Tuesday morning. Lucero spoke of conditions in her
This fall, Mireya Lucero is touring the US to convey the plea of her
people for respect in securing their human and civil rights, and ecfinom.c
assistance in rebuilding their communities.
Recently, hundreds of displaced families, aided by international volun
teers and aid, have begun to return to the rural villages from which they
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d the work people like herself ere doing. The get to-
coordinated by the Black Womens Gathering.
Photo by Richard J. Brown
were driven.
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The military continues to harrass the i
occupations, abductions, and blockades ol
Despitethis, the repopulations have made
the peasants' determination to hold onto th