By
The Associated Press
WASHINGTON - A day after their husbands met, first lady Laura Bush and Jordan's Queen Rania read and sang with toddlers to promote a cause on both women's agendas.
For Mrs. Bush, the visit to a family center in a dilapidated northwest Washington neighborhood yesterday acquainted her with a program that her mother-in-law, Barbara Bush, applauded a decade ago. For Rania, it was a chance to see an American effort to combat poverty.
As Spanish-speaking adults received lessons on how to order food in English, their young children were entertained in another room by the singing and storytelling of the first ladies. The toddlers, wearing pastel Easter outfits, squinted in the glare of television camera lights.
Camille Fountain, executive director of the Family Place, told the first ladies that the center helps immigrants get accustomed to a new culture. Mrs. Bush, a former teacher and librarian, praised the approach of helping parents and their children.
Mrs. Bush and Rania have adopted early childhood education as causes. Mrs. Bush also has initiatives on teacher recruitment and literacy. Rania's other efforts are battling child abuse and securing loans for people who cannot obtain traditional financing.
The two asked questions about the center, where pregnant women and parents with young children can get food and diapers and take classes on parenting, nutrition and English.
"This neighborhood is in a crisis right now. It's good to have this kind of attention," said Monica Palacio, a member of the center's board of directors.
The center was founded in 1980 by a church mission group and is funded with private donations. Palacio said President Bush's plan to partner government and religious groups could mean more money for the center.
At the same time, "it stirs up a lot of resistance. There has to be clarity in who's in charge of what we're teaching," she said.
On the walls of center's foyer were pictures of Barbara Bush taken during a 1990 visit and a 1991 letter in which she thanked employees for their "compassionate work."
The parents and children were not told in advance about the half-hour visit by the first lady and queen. Rania, wife of Jordanian King Abdullah II, and Mrs. Bush gave the children books as gifts. They also stood in a circle with the children, clasping hands and singing songs in Spanish.
President Bush and King Abdullah discussed Mideast peace and a U.S.-Jordanian free trade agreement during their Tuesday meeting at the White House.
