 Nelva Ancona Paraison has been a passionate Catholic social justice advocate for more than 20 years. With an entrepreneur's instinct, Paraison has combined a love of photojournalism and her passion for justice to help people gain access to health care and other services through television.
"This creative approach to justice and her long commitment to driving change make Nelva a worthy recipient of the Peter J. O'Connor Award for Social justice," says Kevin Hickey, director of Camden Diocese of Catholic Charities.
Paraison, who grew up in Puebla, México, credits her family, including her grandmother, with instilling a commitment to Catholic values, and at an early age she became a catechist for her hometown parish.
In 1997 Paraison transformed her hobby of photojournalism into DH Perfíl Latino. TV Inc., a non-profit corporation, developed a television program Perfil Latino (or Hispanic Profiles). For the past 12 years Paraison has been the principal host for the community issues and one of the conductors for the Catholic TV program "Una Hora con Dios."
On the TV program, she provides information about resources to benefit community members, especially newcomers who need legal, economic, civic, cultural and recreational information. Proud of her roots, Paraison takes every opportunity to promote Mexican art, music and local talents.
When Paraison developed diabetes 20 years ago, she became aware that many people, particularly Hispanics, were experiencing immense barriers to health care and other needed services. She used her illness as a means to eradicate inequality in health care and provide education to prevent and manage diabetes in minorities. Paraison is a founding member of the National Diabetes Education Program (NDEP). She took on the initiative to assist in the development of diabetes educational material in Spanish.
As a member of the Hispanic Task Force, she was part of the U.S. Government's Centers for Disease Control first diabetes forums to address Hispanic cultural needs.
For the past 10 years Paraison has been working for Community Health Care, traveling to Cape May, Gloucester and Cumberland counties, to three of the 15 clinics.
Currently she is an associate manager of Farmworker Health. "I enjoy this work not only because I have been able to reach out to other people battling diabetes but because it gives me an opportunity of going far beyond an individual's needs. I'm able to support them with counseling, food, clothing, furniture and even finding shelter," she said.
Paraison accompanies non-English speaking women in the hospital who are alone at their time of delivery. Sometimes she finds them assistance for a few months until they can get on their own feet.
Filemón Matías, community outreach specialist of Community Health Care in Bridgeton, said that since she started working for the Community Health Care, the Hispanic community of the South Jersey area started getting more equal access to health care. "Nelva is the face and voice of justice and equal access for the vulnerable and poor, the Hispanic community needed a person like Nelva to trust," said Matias.
Paraison also assists with funeral arrangements by maintaining good relations with government agencies which have a supporting program for the indigent, as well as with area funeral homes.
For many years, Paraison has contributed to organizing Mexican holiday celebrations with a local flavor in the southern Jersey area. One of these events is the cinco de mayo celebration, which is the celebration of the victory of the Mexican army over the French in Puebla.
Another major event is the Binational Health Week, celebrated in October every year.
Paraison partners with the N.J. Commission for the Blind and Visually Impaired, promoting free eye clinics which benefit the public with ocular surgeries. She has been a part of many local boards, including the Cumberland County Office on Aging's Advisory Board.
With support from the Mexican Consulate, she directs Centro Guadalupano, a center for social and educational services to help non-English speakers improve their life and educational skills. During holiday celebrations, she identifies resources so underprivileged families can also enjoy the season. She believes that all children need a new toy at Christmas or Three Kings Day. She has celebrated many "posadas" in her own house for more than 65 families.
The "Justice for ALL" awards dinner will be presented at 5:30 p.m. on Thursday, April 30, at the Adelphia Grand Ballroom, Deptford.
For information regarding "Justice for ALL" awards dinner, call Heather Cappuccio at 856-583-6161 or go to www.CatholicCharitiesCamden.org |
