Red Ribbon Week is reawakening in Igiugig this year!  Growing up, I participated in Red Ribbon Week (RRW) & I thought it would be a good idea to continue the tradition.  What exactly is RRW you ask? It is the nation’s oldest and largest drug prevention program.  Every year it lands on the last week of October.  Young people pledge to live a drug-free life and pay tribute to DEA Special Agent Enriqué “Kiki” Camarena by wearing red ribbons and by participating in community anti-drug events.

• Facts about Agent Kiki Camarena:
  He was an 11 year veteran of the DEA.
• He was assigned to the Gaudalajara, Mexico office where he was on the trail of the country’s biggest marijuana and cocaine traffickers. 
• On February 7, 1985 he was kidnapped, brutally tortured, & murdered by Mexican drug traffickers.  His death opened the eyes of many Americans to the dangers of drugs and the international scope of the drug trade.
• Shortly after Kiki’s death, Congressman Duncan Hunter and Henry Lozano (a close high school friend of Kiki’s) launched “Camarena Clubs” in Calexico, California, which is Kiki’s hometown.  Pledges were made by hundreds of club members who promised to lead drug-free lives to honor the sacrifice made by Kiki.
• First Lady Nancy Reagan received those pledges at a national conference of parents fighting youth drug use.  Several state parent organizations called on community groups to wear red ribbons during the last week of October as a symbol for their drug free commitment.
• The first Red Ribbon Week celebrations were held in La Mirada and Norwalk, California.
• The National Family Partnership (NFP) coordinated the first National Red Ribbon Week with President & Mrs. Reagan serving as honorary chairpersons in 1988.

I look forward to handing out Red Ribbons to people in the community & working with the school students on their posters.  People who wear their Red Ribbon consistently throughout the week will receive a small prize!  So remember to wear your Red Ribbons PROUDLY!