The Somali Bantu Community Associatiom of Vermont, Inc (SBCAVT) is seeking funding for a new project called the Community-Based Lead Poisoning Prevention Program (CLPP). Since the signs of lead poisoning are not always clear, many children appear to be healthy even though they may be sick. Evidence suggests that lead poisoning can also have a deterimental impacts on pregnant women because lead can affect the brain of a developing fetus. Youth are also susceptible to the harmful effects of lead, especiallly with regard to their brain development. Young people are vulnerable to these kinds of toxic burdens on the human body and, for this reason, they may sustain long-term injuries from exposure. Lead is dangerous and a major health hazard. It can be found in paint and in other household items, in addition to naturally ocurring in the enrironment. The goal of the CLPP is to provivde community members, particuarly New Americans of African descent, with access to comprensive and culturally and linguistically competent information about the associated risks of lead poisoning. This program will be a community resource, especially in a low income area like the Old North End of Burlington, where our office is currently located. . It is important for Somali Bantu adults to understand the importance of the threat of lead poisoning, particuarly in vulnerable populations such as pregnant women, children, and the disabled. As a result, the SBCAVT will provide Somali Bantu community members with an educational program focused on bridging the gap in access to information in a manner that is culturally competent. Educating the refugee and immigrant poulation in Chittenden County, through a series of workshops and health-related activities, will be the main component of the CLPP. We also plan to disseminate translated written materials about lead poisoning that will be made available to the African refugee community. We currently have a drop in Center in our office, whcih can be used to provide additional information about available resources and treatments for symptoms. The Somali Bantu represent a historically subjugated and oppressed cultural group in Africa. They are descendants of slaves that were traded through the Zanzibar slave trade network during the 1800s. They arrived in Somalia from Tanzania, Malawi, and northern Mozambique The Somali Bantu have been victims of persecution, prejudice, tirbalism/racism and violence because of their ancestry. Due to their tribal/racial status, the Somali Bantus have been barred from political participation and prevented from owning their own land, intermarrying, and access to any kind of formal education. The majority of Somali Bantu adults have not received any education and they are limited in terms of their access to other opportunities such as technical or vocational training. Since most Somali Bantu adults are unable to read or write in English, the SBCAVT plans to rely on resources from our own English as a Second Language program to translate all lead poisoning information into May May, their traditional language.