Hooray for Citoya!

There was one bold resident at Dunbar Village, a housing project in Florida, who dared to try to make a difference. The place is loaded with crime, including the horrific incident with the Haitian woman and her son. You can keep up to date from the blog Dunbar Village 2008 run by Symphony from Essential Presence.

Al Sharpton promised to come by and bring publicity and clout to the matter, but at the last minute did not. There was no help forthcoming. The one resident, Citoya who made so much effort to fight for change in her community was left alone. With all criminals who are still loose aware of her attempts at change. It was very dangerous for her to stay for even one more minute.

Praise God, all the women at Black Women Vote! led by SheCodes made an effort on her behalf. Money was donated, calls were made, notices were put out on blogs. Here is the rest (the following is a cut and paste right from Black Women Vote!):

Citoya is all packed and ready to leave Dunbar Village. She is currently negotiating for a lease in a two bedroom apt in a safer area in West Palm Beach. But here is the great news:

Habitat for Humanity has expressed serious interest in building a brand new home for Citoya, within the next couple of months.

Wow! A brand new house is something that I had not even dreamed possible... thank you to blkSeagoat for brainstorming and getting that ball rolling!

Message from Citoya:

Hello Everyone,

I would like to thank everybody for their support, and all of the encouraging emails. I'm moving forward with the process to get my own home built. I am also talking with a local landlord to get a short term lease to live in the meantime.

Thank you SO MUCH and God bless you all!

Citoya

Citoya has expressed her continued commitment to working for social justice and safety in neighborhoods like Dunbar Village -- no matter where she lives. So now the ball is now in Citoya's court; she has enough leads to start a brand new chapter of her life.

She is also leaving Dunbar Village better than how she found it. Her efforts, combined with the help of several bloggers, has raised the awareness level that was necessary to begin to cut through the stubborn gridlock, red tape, and governmental malaise. The residents now have a police officer who walks through the complex, and video cameras in the hallways.

you can read the rest at SheCodes' blog.

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ITS A SIGN?

This is a wonderful example of what can be done when there is unity. Shecodes said it best:

"We definitely do NOT need to be a monolith to create monolithic changes for black women!"

Beginners luck, some may say as they wait for the other shoe to drop. However, the way I see it. Beginners luck is a way that God has of showing you, look at what you can do! Now fly! And then, the crunch work starts. We have to have perseverence, determination, and inspiration to keep pushing forward. We must not get lax from the initial ease of success.

God willing it should always be this easy!!!