b"L a t i n o p a r e n t s a d v o c a t e f o r c l e a n w a t e r f o r l o c a l s t u d e n t sFor decades, Pescadero Middle/High School has relied on bottled water for its students, due to the foul-smelling tap water pollutedwith nitrates. The County and school officials had already been working on this issue and in December 2023, these determinedparent advocates attended the California Coastal Commision meeting and spoke on the issueand the decision made that daybrought renewed hope for manythe approval of an extension of a water line from downtown Pescadero to the school.Margarito Gomez is a founding member of DCAC (Del Campo a Cambio/From the Field to Change, a grassroots advocacy group offarmworkers and parents) said, I kept thinking about how this is such a wealthy county, but still our kids are subjected to unsafedrinking water. That was a huge motivator for me to get involved, says the father of four, who works at a ranch in Pescadero. Heswatched his two eldest children go through high school with the dirty, smelly water. His two youngest children are there right now. At one recent San Mateo County Board of Supervisors meeting, Gomez displayed pictures of the polluted water. Its betweenDel Campo al Cambio (From the Fields to Change) brown and yellow. You wouldn't wash your hands in it, much less wash your mouth, he says. We definitely made an impact withmembers with County and school staff at the Coastal the comments that we shared with the Supervisors.Commission meeting.Os miembros de Del Campo al Cambio al lado de personal Del Campo al Cambio formed in 2022. Members prepare heavily to speak at public meetings and have received training and advicedel condado de San Mateo y personal del distrito escolar from Puente and others, like Faith in Action, a national organizing network. The Puente team also provides support with logisticsen la reunin de la Comisin Costera. and feedback to the DCAC group when they request it.At the end of their vote, Commissioner Rice said, I am embarrassed that it has taken so long to resolve this situation.and really feel for the community. This should have been resolved along time ago. There was a big, joyful roar in the room when they approved for the extension of CSA 11.Construction has not started, which means clean water may not come soon enough for Gomezs youngest child to benefit. But this work wasnt just personal, he says. It was meant forthe whole community. T h e w a t e r i s b e t w e e n b r o w n a n d y e l l o w . Y o u w o u l d n ' tw a s h y o u r h a n d s i n i t , m u c h l e s s w a s h y o u r m o u t h .- Margarito Gomez, founding member of DCAC(Del Campo a Cambio/From the Field to Change)20"