Literature Introducing the Improvement of Colonias Poverty

Kiara Starks
Rhetoric & Composition
November 9, 2017
 Abstract
Colonias has been around for many of years, but only started to show up at the U.S-Mexico

Border, of Texas, in 1950. Families, which was made up of Hispanics, who had low incomes,

migrated to the borders for a better life. But, life ended up difficult due to not having basic

human necessities, living in shacks that cannot handle changing weather, no medical help,

education, etc. However, as the years went past, colonias started to improve from a third world

setting. Literature, through media, started to show the improvements of colonias as the colonias

had help from school programs, non-organizational government groups, and the government.

Through this help, they started to improve their infrastructure, medical problems, water,

education, etc. Even though, health, education for adults, and poverty still remain a big problem

in the colonias.

Additionally, the text will explain the improvement of colonias shown through literature. The

text would mention how the colonias succeed in improving themselves through the help of others

while turning into a community. Once the 2000s came into play, the colonias started to move

from a third-world setting. Literature gives insight to the positive, with negatives added,

improvements within the colonias.

In conclusion, the text will bring insight on not only the improvement of colonias but the

problems that still lie in wake within the colonias.

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 Literature Introducing the Improvement of Colonias Poverty

Introduction

Literature, through media, portrays the improvement in colonias through an honest light to

bring awareness to the problems presented in colonias while stating the programs that helped

them through the years. Residents of the colonias started to migrate to the Texas border in 1950;

low-income Hispanic immigrants made up the population presented in colonias. During the

beginning, when they first migrated along the border, the people build their homes while not

having access to human necessitates nor utilities. Infrastructure, during that time, was not a

stable one. People did not have the money nor resources needed to conduct a stable home that

can withstand the weather changes while having electricity, plumbing, and water. But, not only

did they struggle in infrastructure, they struggled with the means of education too.

However, literature introduces the reader on how the colonias are starting to improve with the

help of organizations, school programs, and the government. With the help of others, the

colonias are not only showing improvement in their infrastructure but also in their education too.

Though poverty, education on adults, and running water may still be an issue, the colonias are

have improved from a third world setting.

Colonias Improvement

The colonias have started to change from the prospect of a third world country to a

community. According to Anderson (2003), over the course of fifty years, from 1950 through

2000, the region surrounding the US-Mexico border has shown a growth of improvement in

education, housing, and poverty (p. 535). Due to the growth of population in the border region,

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there have been positive outcomes with minor negative ones. Education started to improve in the

regions as people started to seek and obtain higher levels of knowledge. Studies have shown an

increase, from 1950 to later years, of population obtaining elementary and high-school

knowledge; except in 1990-2000, the rate of adults having less than a ninth-grade education

increased (p. 544-546). As years went past, the region is starting to improve their housing while

decreasing the need for plumbing and water due to them starting to obtain them. And lastly, even

though poverty seems to still be at an all-time high, the region is not as bad as they once were.

Grinberg (2011), claims that the colonias didnt start to appear in Texas border until 1950 and

started a process of growth in the infrastructure during the 1980s (para. 14-19). The people have

improved their homes to stable ones that can withstand the weather changes and started having

the utilities needed to function a home.

Life in the colonias can be a hard one but improving at the same time. According to Holeywell

(2015), the colonias have learned how to improve and improvise in the third-world setting of

their community. Though they may lack the basic human necessities and have a high rate of

poverty, they still learned how to adapt to the resources they have for improvement (para. 1-2).

Mexican-Americans make up 73 percent of the colonials population; a lot of them started off as

farm workers and migrant settlements while they purchased land (though they will not own it)

without any infrastructure and housing unit. The people would find used materials to build their

homes while adding more structure once they made more money (para. 11-13). Texas Secretary

of State (Nandita Berry and Carlos Cascos) started to record the infrastructure within the

colonias while funding ten million dollars to help them improve the infrastructure. By 2006,

about 100 colonias have moved out of the worst conditions and started to have access to potable

water, legal plants, and drainage (para. 19-20). Poverty may be high, people barely speak

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english and more than half of the residents do not have high-school diplomas, but the colonias

are resilient. They fight for improvement with the help of programs while finding the means of

education. Generations of generations will come, improving the conditions of colonias (para. 30-

32).

Even as they fight for improvement, there are still a few struggles presented. Strickland

(2016), claims that parents, who are undocumented immigrants, living in unstable home structure

with no basic human necessities and low-income homes, struggle with life in the colonias and the

fear of getting deported from their children. Colonias fills the complete surrounding area of the

US-Mexico border, but Texas has the largest colonias community-more than 500,000 people.

The highest poverty-stricken colonias community is in Hidalgo County while the others are Starr

and Cameron Counties. There are colonias places, on the Texas border, who have better

infrastructure than others. A program called NGO (non-governmental organization) provides

better housing for the colonial residents. Also, due to being immigrants, some parents can only

work odd jobs, which results in them not bringing enough income home. An organization called

LUPE (La Unin del Pueblo Entero), even explains how there is an improvement in the colonias,

but many challenges still remain (para. 10-16). Though there is a fear of stepping out the

shadows due to being deported, the colonias still want to fight for medical and basic necessities

needed in the community.

Helping the Colonias

Schools, like UTEP and UTRGV ( The University of Texas at Rio Grande Valley), have

started projects that will help the colonias with their major problems, running water and

medicine. According to Borderzine staff (2015), UTEP researchers are developing a water filter

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that helps the people in the colonias have safe and clean running water. Due to not having clean

water, people fall ill or end up with a terrible rash. To decrease the health issues that the colonias

causes, UTEP researchers are collaborating on a $500,000 grant to build the water filter; which

the water filter will help clear out the toxins in the contaminated water (p. 5). Nelson (2017),

claims that the medical school of UTRGV has brought medicine to the people of the colonias, It

has been years since the people of colonias seen doctors due to the ability of not being able to

afford it. Ever since the medical school of UTRGV has been founded in 2014 and funded in

2015, the students have been going out to give medical attention to the people of the colonias

and the ones in vulnerable communities (para. 5-8).

UTEP and UTRGV have shown effective ways of helping the colonias but in different ways.

According to UnitedHealth Group (2015), they state that Hispanic adults are not receiving many

key clinical preventive health services in the colonias. This data caused the need for expansion in

health programs and services, causing United Health Foundation to partner up with UTRGV

School of Medicine. This partnership provided 2.8 million dollars to support the increase of

health care in the Rio Grande Valley colonias (para. 1). Through the CCIC program, health

clinics are deployed to bring medical care to two colonias. The clinics provide screenings and

health education while improving dental and mental health services. This project also trains

promotoras, who are health workers that link health care system with the colonias through shared

language, culture, and ethnic ties. Through the training of promotoras, health care delivery can

become more effective throughout colonias (para. 2). Perez (2017) claims that most of the

students in the College of Engineering built a rain harvesting system that can collect 2,200

gallons of water for an elderly couple in the colonias. The people in the colonias do not have the

basic infrastructure, such as paved roads and connections to the municipal utilities. The people

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have to haul in water several times per week for out and indoor uses.UTEP, who are calling the

project Water Matters, hopes that this will help cut back on time and cost of getting water (para.

3). Joining up with CERM (Center for Environmental Resources), the researchers were able to

have help in going through with the project of building the rain harvesting system. This project

inspired Presidio Mayor John Ferguson to propose a grant to his city council that would create an

extension of city water services to the colonias (para. 9-14).

Connection of Literature and Colonias

Literature shows the good and bad when it comes to the improvement of the colonias. The

book of The Poverty of Revolution by Susan Eckstein does not focus on the colonias poverty in

Texas nor the United States but takes place in Mexico. The book shows that the even though the

colonias parts in Mexico are showing improvements after the World War 2, the government of

Mexico keeps the area poor while other areas, that are not poor, improve (p. 6-8). This shows

how the colonias are portrayed here, in the U.S. Even though the colonias are improving, the

government has not shown enough help with colonias. Colonias still tends on the line of poverty,

but not as bad as before then.

Conclusions

Literature tends to focus on fixing the infrastructure of the colonias. But, instead of focusing on

the infrastructure, there should be a focus on the medical and water problem. More programs and

organizations should come together and work on helping them with the water problem by

building water filters, getting running water, and collecting gallons of water. There should also

be the main focus on helping the colonias gain medical attention to help with the growing

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problem of diseases, rashes, and dental issues. Because, who can deprive the colonias of the

basic human necessities?

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Proyecto Azteca. A typical south Texas Colonia. July 17, 2015. US-Mexico Border, Texas.
https://urbanedge.blogs.rice.edu/2015/07/17/in-texas-colonias-third-world-conditions-are-the-
norm/#.WgfX1GiPLIV
Fig. 1 This picture shows a family, in the colonias, living in a house they build themselves with
used materials they find. The picture shows how housing looks in the colonias and how the
houses represent a third-world setting.

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 Bibliography

United Health Group. Improving access to care in Rio Grande Valley. UnitedHealth Group.
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http://www.unitedhealthgroup.com/SocialResponsibility/Partners/UniversityTexasRioGra
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Grinberg, Emmanuella. Improvised border town grows from shacks into community. CNN.
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Holeywell, Ryan. In Texas colonias third-world conditions are the norms. The Urban Edge.
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Strickland, Patrick. Living on the edges: life in the colonias of Texas. Aljazeera. November 5,
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Anderson, B. Joan. The U.S-Mexico border: a half-century of change. The Social Science
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Perez, Daniel. Miners build rainwater harvesting systems in Colonia. UTEP. June 22, 2017.
http://engineering.utep.edu/announcement062217.htm

Borderzine Staff. UTEP researchers developing water filter to help colonias. Borderzine. June
4, 2015. http://borderzine.com/2015/06/utep-researchers-developing-water-filter-to-help-
colonias/

Eckstein, Susan. The Poverty of Revolution. Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press,
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