From L to Right, Phefelia Herbert-Nez (Navajo Nation First Lady), Barbara Crowell Roy (Eve’s Fund president), Jodee Dennison (ThinkFirst Navajo chapter director), Dottie Lizer (Navajo Nation Second Lady), Myron Lizer (Navajo Nation Vice-Presidnet and Cecelia Fred (ThinkFirst Navajo VIP)
In May, some of our ThinkFirst Navajo team members were honored to meet with Navajo Nation’s First Lady Phefelia Herbert-Nez and Second Lady Dottie Lizer to discuss our mutual interest in saving young lives and preventing injuries across the Navajo Nation.
These smart, competent and kind women are interested in supporting small non-profits such as Eve’s Fund. Likewise, they are committed to improving the quality of life of Navajo children through education and advocacy.
Mrs. Nez and Mrs. Lizer were especially interested in addressing the high rate of preventable deaths and disabling injuries of infants and children on the Navajo Nation. Together, we discussed possible ways to do something about reversing these troubling statistics.
As Navajo women, mothers and spouses they recognize the challenges Navajo families face every day. The female Nez/Lizer team is donating huge chunks of their time to promoting prevention initiatives. What great ambassadors they are!
At the end of our fruitful meeting, we were joined by Navajo Nation Vice-President Myron Lizer who was especially pleased that we had brought along safety helmets for the Nez/Lizer couples and their children; Lizer had taken a spill on his bicycle the evening before and fortunately, was not injured. He has been wearing his helmet ever since.
We reminded the group that the foundation our ThinkFirst Navajo program is based on the reality that:
“Prevention is the only cure!”
About ThinkFirst Navajo
ThinkFirst Navajo is a chapter of ThinkFirst National Injury Prevention Foundation and is one of the most active in the country. ThinkFirst Navajo is the only chapter that operates exclusively on a federally recognized Native American Indian reservation, an area where injury rates are three to four times the national average.
Since the program was started by Eve’s Fund in late 2005, its VIP (Voices for Injury Prevention) speakers — all adult Navajos with paraplegia — have educated more than 56,000 Navajo school children on the Navajo Nation about injury prevention and distributed thousands of safety helmets.
In addition to providing culturally sensitive and free education to schools and youth programs on the Navajo Nation, ThinkFirst Navajo also provides additional peer mentoring, support, and training to the program’s VIP speakers.
To schedule a free free injury prevention presentation in a school, youth conference or other venue, please contact us through our website at: Contact ThinkFirst Navajo.
