A New Community Partnership to Assist Migrant Farm Workers

In recent years, the Batten Leadership Program has partnered with Dos Santos, a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization, led entirely by volunteers, that assists migrant farm workers and the immigrant Latino community of Virginia’s Eastern Shore.

Dos Santos means “two saints” in Spanish; its name embraces the promise of Jesus as conveyed in Holy Scripture: “Where two or more are gathered in my Name, There I will be also” (Matthew 18:20). Students volunteer weekly for food distributions at the Dos Santos food pantries, raise funds for crucial supplies, and aid migrant farm workers and their families in any other way possible.

Evan Mitchell, Assistant Director of the Global Affairs Fellows and Middle and Upper School Spanish Teacher, has been a central advocate for expanding and strengthening the partnership between Dos Santos and Norfolk Academy. Mitchell became involved with Dos Santos last year in hopes of finding a positive outlet for his Spanish students to use their language skills outside the classroom while engaging meaningfully within their community. After his first meeting with the migrant farm workers, Mitchell said, “This experience was very memorable for me — a big part of it was hearing their stories and learning about what they were going through. Another part was realizing that it was only their second week here in the United States. Speaking with these migrant farm workers made the mission of Dos Santos come alive for me and it helped me appreciate all that we have at Norfolk Academy.”

Dos Santos works closely with the Agricultural Workers Advocacy Coalition (AWAC) to help fight for increased labor rights and better treatment of migrant farm workers. Every year, tens of thousands of migrant farm workers from Mexico and Central America are granted H-2A temporary work visas. The H-2A temporary agricultural program allows farming companies to transport foreign workers to the United States to perform seasonal agricultural labor. On the Eastern Shore, migrant laborers are the lifeblood of the economy, performing the jobs no one else is willing to do. And yet, despite being essential to our nation, migrant farm workers are treated as disposable and are frequently left out of moral and legal discussions. This is why Dos Santos and AWAC collaborate to aid these workers when there are food shortages, transportation difficulties, and a whole host of other legal and labor issues. Many students and teachers within the Batten Leadership Program have been lucky enough to meet some of these workers, attend partner meetings with Dos Santos and AWAC, and help to find and work on creative and out-of-the-box solutions to the migrant farm workers’ problems.

Joe Bakkar ’24, a Global Health Fellow, also started volunteering with Dos Santos last year. Bakkar commented, “Normally when you participate and help with fundraisers you don’t actually see the people that you are helping, but with Dos Santos, you get to meet and interact with the migrant farm workers on a very close level. And now that I have become more involved with Dos Santos, I am looking forward to contributing to the nonprofit in my own way.”

From the Batten Leadership Program to the Maymester Program, Norfolk Academy students are fortunate to have such a plethora of experiential learning opportunities offered to them. Strengthening Norfolk Academy’s connections to organizations like Dos Santos will continue to broaden students’ horizons and challenge them to engage in solving real-world problems. ◆

OPPOSITE: During the 2022 holiday season, Batten Leadership Program Fellows joined with other students who help support the Dos Santos Food Pantry to donate more than 130 gifts to migrant children. The students also handed out food assistance to more than 130 families. Dos Santos serves the immigrant and farm worker communities in Accomack and Northampton counties on the Eastern Shore.