Meet
CCI Member – Maria Lira
Maria Lira is a new Latinos en Acción
de CCI member from Marshalltown. She immigrated to Iowa eight years
ago from Michoacan, Mexico. Maria and her husband Mencho have been
married for seven years and hope to start a family soon. In April,
Maria took the test to become an American citizen and passed! Now
she is studying computers and English.
Maria got involved in CCI because she wanted
to see better working conditions for all workers at the Swift and
Company meatpacking plant in Marshalltown.
1) What
got you involved with CCI?
I am a rabble rouser. I like to join with other like-minded people
to make change. When I joined CCI, I joined because CCI fights for
people – it is a personality that matches mine.I have always
been motivated to work with and fight for people. CCI gave me that
opportunity.
2) What
do you think is the key to the success of CCI?
CCI is successful because of the power in numbers but even more
than that, the key to our success is the organization of the group
– we talk, act and get things done.
3) What
do you like about being a part of CCI?
I like the regular meetings and the opportunity we get to prepare
and strategize.The best part is carrying out our strategies and
seeing results. I enjoy being a part of a group that thinks like
me and has my same mentality of fighting back and winning.
4) What do you like about living
in Iowa?
Iowa is such a nice, tranquil place to live. I like that I can go
out in Marshalltown and feel safe. There isn’t violence or
a lot of delinquency.
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