After our recent collaboration with the CCJ at UBC (The Centre for Climate Justice) were we tracked indoor temperatures of houses provided to agricultural workers in the Okanagan, RAMA would like to call on allies and community members to support a special fund to purchase AC units for workers in need. Our study found that many workers experience sustained and prolonged high temperatures in their house, consistently exceeding outdoor temperatures. We continue to advocate for robust national housing standards and inspections, among other recommendations in the report.

RAMA is an unincorporated non-profit association run entirely by volunteers. We are not registered with any government authority, nor do we accept any government or corporate funding. At present, we are financially sustained by donations from individual allies and non-profit associations as well as through in-kind contributions of labour, food, transportation, etcetera.

We have no paid staff and no public-facing office. Our overhead costs include a phone number and website expenses. 100% of our funding is channeled towards organizing efforts, direct support work with migrant farmworkers, community-building projects, and public awareness campaigns.

If you would like to make a financial contribution, you can make a donation by PayPal, e-transfer ( to RamaOkanagan@Gmail.com), or cheques can be made out to “RAMA” and mailed to the address below.

Looking for a registered charity who also supports migrant workers in the Syilx Okanagan Nation? We suggest WATARI.

RAMA
1300 Mountain View Rd.
Armstrong, BC
V4Y 0S4
CANADA

In a typical month, RAMA expenses may include:

• Materials for English classes
• The cost of gas for organizers driving to and from remote farms
• Provision of food for RAMA gatherings and community events with workers
• Long distance phone calls between organizers and workers’ families
• Legal counsel and emergency funding for workers in crisis
• Provision of food and medicine for workers in need
• The cost of hotels/overnight stays for workers fleeing abuse

We always welcome donations of gift cards to local stores in Kelowna/Lake Country (e.g. Superstore, Walmart) to support workers in need, as well as taxi vouchers they can use to reach a medical facility from/to their workplace/farm there they live.

RAMA is grateful for past funding we have received from the Federation of Post Secondary Educators (FPSE) of British Columbia, Freedonia, and the West Coast Domestic Workers Association, and the British Columbia Government & Service Employees Union (BCGEU).

RAMA invites and welcomes members of the community to sign up for RAMA’s general mailing list (for press releases and event notifications), please use the form at the end of this page.

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Migrant Workers Centre awarded RAMA with its 2023 Leticia Sarmiento Award “for their outstanding work advocating for agricultural migrant workers in the Kelowna region.”
This award honours the memory of Leticia Sarmiento, a former Chair of the Migrant Workers Centre Board of Directors. Leticia was a care worker from the Philippines who had worked in Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, and Hong Kong prior to coming to Canada. She was a strong, committed, and determined community advocate for care workers. Her own case against her employers brought significant attention to labour trafficking in BC. She shared her story in MWC’s documentary “Hidden in Plain Sight: Labour Trafficking and Migrant Workers in BC,” available on youtube.

You can also like or follow RAMA on Facebook or Instagram.