Juana Rodriguez-Vazquez, executive director of Mano en Mano and director of Rayitos del Sol, teaches children enrolled at the bilingual child care center. Katherine Emery photo
At Rayitos del Sol, a dozen children play and learn at the new child care center inside Mano en Mano's Milbridge headquarters. It's a center with a difference: little hands play with dolls and cook pretend meals like at any other center. But here, colorful posters signal both Spanish and English names of colors as children and teachers speak in both languages.
"Child care is a need all over the state," said Juana Rodriguez Vazquez, executive director of the nonprofit and director of the Rayitos del Sol (little sunbeams) center for 12 children ages 1 to 5. "Here, it is an additional challenge for families who are raising bilingual children."
In Spanish-only households, it can be difficult for parents to communicate with teachers who speak only English.
MaineCF has focused on child care since 2016, when it began work with communities and organizations throughout the state to help young children get a strong start. MaineCF funded community assessments, plans that expanded resources to educate young children, and advocacy for state-level policy change and public education to raise awareness of early childhood issues.
One example: MaineCF made several foundation-initiated and donor-advised fund grants to support Coastal Enterprises Inc.'s Child Care Business Lab. The yearlong entrepreneurial training program supports people who want to create a new child care center or expand an existing facility. Its curriculum focuses on licensing, business plan development, assessing and improving the quality of education, and other essential tools for long-term success.
In addition to child care, Mano en Mano has provided immigrants and migrant workers support and connections to essential services since 2005, including translation assistance, medical care, employment, housing, and government and legal aid.
The organization discussed providing bilingual child care for several years, but the issue became more pressing during the pandemic. As child care centers scaled back their hours, decreased enrollment, or closed altogether, families increasingly juggled full-time jobs with more child care needs at home.
Children learn in both English and Spanish at Rayitos del Sol, a child care center at the nonprofit organization Mano en Mano in Milbridge. Katherine Emery photo
Most children come from Spanish-speaking homes and three of its four teachers speak Spanish. The bilingual setting allows Spanish-speaking children to remain connected to their native language while also learning English. At the same time, English-speaking children learn Spanish from teachers and peers at the center.
Washington County has seen more migrant workers in the agricultural and seafood industries establish permanent roots in Maine. In Milbridge, nearly a third of students at its elementary school and 6 percent of town residents are Hispanic, compared to 1 percent statewide. Workers and their families from South and Central America, Puerto Rico, and the Caribbean Islands have given the local economy a boost as active community members, consumers, and owners of new businesses.
Rodriguez-Vazquez, who moved to Milbridge in 1998 with her family from Guanajuato, Mexico, attended Milbridge Elementary School and graduated from Narraguagus High School in 2007. She has worked for Mano en Mano for 10 years and became executive director in 2021. Her leadership skills strengthened after participating in MaineCF's Investing in Leaders of Color (ILOC) grant program in 2020.
ILOC supports nonprofit leaders of color and their organizations through one-on-one coaching, networking opportunities, and a stipend for professional development and operating costs.
"A lot of the time people of color don't get the opportunity to invest in themselves and get those leadership skills," said Rodriguez-Vazquez. "Having the coach helps you grow and learn. I still keep in touch with mine."
Mano en Mano broke ground this fall on a new child care facility adjacent to its headquarters. It will have room for up to 45 children from infants to those in the after-school program.
The project received a 2022 MaineCF Community Building grant from the Washington County Fund as well as support from a donor-advised fund through MaineCF's Giving Together program.
"It is very important to my family that my child attends a bilingual daycare. He is learning about culture and language at a young age, which will help him as he grows, and I believe it will make him more open to diversity," said Rebecca, mother to a 1-year-old who attends Rayitos del Sol. "It also gives him broader learning opportunities and helps him cognitively."
