The following gives an account of the successes for a client who can add a resolute learner of English to her long lists of positions, including wife, mother, seamstress extraordinaire, new homeowner, and resilient survivor: 

​

The client is a woman in her 50s who was born in the Democratic Republic of Congo. After horrific human rights abuses and violence gripped her homeland, she and her family fled to Uganda where they lived for many years in a refugee camp. In late 2019, she resettled with her husband and four minor-aged children in Jacksonville, Florida. She started attending ESOL classes with Catholic Charities in January 2020, right before the worldwide cataclysmic pandemic impacted the lives of her, her family, and of everyone else.
Despite suddenly being thrown into an online class, the client made the best of it. Attending her morning online class faithfully, she was able to move her English level up. This was in the middle of the pandemic, working long shifts cleaning hotels, and suffering from untreated eyesight problems. In the summer of 2022, she received free eye screening and eyeglasses through our community partner, Vision Is Priceless. Though still struggling with literacy skills, she, now gifted with better vision, is currently poised to transition to taking Higher Level courses at Florida State College at Jacksonville (FSCJ) in the near future.
She and her husband have dreams not only for their children, but for themselves as well. Scrimping and saving, they were able to purchase the house they had been renting back in May 2022. Moreover, the client, an adept at sewing and other textile skills, has been able to earn extra income in her original tailoring profession. She hopes to be able to move back into her original field of expertise full time in the next year or two. If her and her family’s track record is any indication, she will also make this dream a reality.