El Dia de los Ninos - Children's Day - is celebrated in many Latin American countries. In North Carolina's high country, this year's celebration stressed concern for the safety and health of local Latino kids through a multicultural health and safety event and clinic in Boone.

The late-April event was a hit, drawing more than 125 Latino participants, says Sue Counts, North Carolina Cooperative Extension's Watauga County director. "It was the first of its kind in the state, and we hope it will become a model for similar clinics in other places this summer."

"The community made this happen," says Dr. Andrew Behnke, a Latino families expert and an assistant professor of human development in the College's 4-H Youth Development and Family and Consumer Sciences Department. "We just got the ball rolling. And they really participated in all the steps that went into putting it on. It was jam-packed with quality information; we cut right to the most important issues for these Latino families," he said.

Julia Storm, an agromedicine information specialist with the College's Environmental and Molecular Toxicology Department, helped Behnke secure the N.C. State University Extension, Engagement and Economic Development planning grant that made it possible to organize and coordinate the event. Both Behnke and Storm are N.C. Cooperative Extension Latino Outreach Team (LOT) members.

"Hispanic women from Mary Boyer's weekly English as a Second Language Class at the Watauga County extension center really got involved in planning. They proposed many of health and safety topics they felt should be addressed," says Storm.

That zeal continued in post-event focus groups, Storm says, during which the women discussed topics from improving crowd flow to how much they had learned.

"I really like that we participated in creating the event. That was what mattered most," another woman said.

"The women who worked so hard on this event are still talking about it," says Extension County Director Counts, a LOT charter member and a pi neer in developing Latino-oriented programs in the state.

"They have come out of this with leadership skills they did not have before," she says. "This event and all of the planning and its huge success have given them the self-esteem and confidence they needed to do so much more."

Neither Cooperative Extension nor the Latino ESL students were the only ones who helped. Other event sponsors included Farm Safety Just 4 Kids, Safe Kids of North Carolina Watauga chapter, Watauga County Children's Council, Appalachian Regional Healthcare System, the American Red Cross, the Blowing Rock Fire Department and local Latino businesses, among others.

Latino youth worked with Karee Mackey, Watauga County's Cooperative Extension agent for 4-H Youth Development, to develop and produce a Latino family health and safety calendar, photographing Latino children in the Boone area. The calendars cover topics like applying sunscreen and checking fire safety. The Boone Fire Department visited the group to share tips.

About 30 volunteers, including Extension staffers from Alleghany, Ashe, Avery and Watauga counties, helped everything run smoothly, while handing out information and safety items like the calendar.

Also, Watauga County kids - Anglo and Latino - and other volunteers helped design an outdoor stage for the world premiere of "Ricky meets Wachale," a rural safety puppet show run by puppeteer Cindy Ball. "Wachale" is Spanglish for "watch out for it." ("Spanglish" is an informal combination language that helps Spanish- and English-speakers communicate with each other.)

Except for the puppet show, all materials were presented in Spanish.

Also, the Town of Boone distributed more than 40 bike helmets and car booster seats, the Watauga County Health Department gave free tetanus shots, and each family received a first aid kit from the American Red Cross.

- Art Latham