Literacy Volunteers of Greater Worcester
Providing English language proficiency for Economic Security
Each year Literacy Volunteers of Greater Worcester helps adults from all walks of life, all with different needs, become more comfortable with the English language. We challenge our students to dream, we are proud of all their accomplishments and we look forward to helping many more in the very near future. Here are their stories.
Seetha and Carol
Seetha shared the following story in a room of over 40 people. We are so proud of her accomplishments, including this speech.
My name is Seetha. I live in Shrewsbury and I come from India. I am working at Reliant Medical Group in Westborough. I am teaching religious scripts for small kids through conference calls on weekday evenings. In the future I am planning to volunteer at a hospice once a week.
In my community, I am surrounded by highly qualified people like doctors and engineers. One day I was frustrated at work trying to reply to emails. Most of my replies were one-word answers like yes, okay, no, and thank you. I asked my coworkers for help. One of my coworkers recommended Literacy Volunteers of Greater Worcester, and I signed up for tutoring.
Carol and I have been working together once a week for about 2.5 years. I have learned a lot from Carol. I have more confidence with my friends, in the workplace, and in the community.
Every week I look forward to my class. I book a room at the Shrewsbury Library. Carol brings a lot of interesting materials for my weekly class and homework. We discuss readings and sometimes laugh at the stories. I also learn English idioms from Carol. Those are my favorite moments.
I am thankful to the Literacy Volunteer group who introduced Carol in my life. She finds out what I need and how to improve my English. She patiently corrects my mistakes and teaches me how to fix the mistakes. She always encourages my work. Before I joined the program, I asked my kids to help me fix all the emails and text messages. Sometimes they would help, sometimes they would make faces. Now I reply to my emails with more confidence.
I was promoted from part time to full time at the front desk for lab and x-ray at Reliant Medical Group in Westborough.
I have improved my understanding of English reading comprehension.
I have more self-confidence.
I have increased my yearly test scores.
Finally, I accepted the invitation and spoke today.
This is my first English speech. Thank you for supporting me to learn English.
Lan Huy is a brave and soft spoken young man who recently opened his new graphic design and printing business right here in Worcester. In addition to graphic design and printing, he also has this incredibly complex but beautiful looking embroidery machine, which he is a master of!
He is also a tutored ESOL student at Literacy Volunteers of Greater Worcester, who recently immigrated to the United States from Vietnam with his young family to create a better life. He is so thankful for the opportunity of literacy, his tutor and his chance to create a good and happy life in the United States.
Lan named his business, Happy Colors, and he selected that name because it means a happy life for him and his family. He continues to meet with his tutor to master the English language and cultural expectations with his tutor Gary at weekly meetings.
Learn more about supporting local business at Happy Colors and consider becoming a tutor to help someone else gain English language skills.
My name is Ban Yaqoob. I am a refugee from Iraq. My family and I have been in the United States for three years and a few months. I have two children, one son in high school and a daughter in college. When I first came to Worcester, I attended classes at Literacy Volunteers to learn English. I waited a long time for a tutor. We have been meeting every week for almost one and a half years. I need to learn to speak English so that I can communicate in my daily life. I am thankful to Literacy Volunteers and my teacher for helping me with my goal.
My name is Agueda Rivadeneyra. I am from Mexico. I have been in the US for 2 years. I am taking English Classes with the Literacy Volunteers. I want to learn English because I need to communicate with the people in this country. My husband and I came from Mexico to North Grafton, Ma. because my youngest son began high school.
My name is Elena Sokolova and I am from Russia. I came to this country so that my son could have a better future in the USA. I want to improve my English because I want to feel comfortable and communicate with other Americans and I would like to build my future in this country too. My tutor is Emma. She helps me improve my English and helps me to understand culture and traditions. She also helps me with every day responsibilities such as shopping, doctor’s appointments, and understanding my son’s college application process. With my tutor, I have met new people and visited new places, like Concord, MA.
My name is Bijan Mohammadi. I was born in Iran and grew up in Germany, where I got a BS degree in Electrical Engineering. I have worked in the field of logistics automation for the shipping and auto parts industry as a technical support specialist for more than 12 years. I got married in Worcester, MA. My wife and I have a daughter who is going into kindergarten this year. We decided to live and work in Massachusetts. I arrived in the US late in 2012. After a week a got a part time job at Burlington Coat Factory.
My name is Kwabena Boakye. I am from Ghana, in West Africa. I came to this country because I wanted to build my life here. My tutor’s name is John Matraia. He helps me with speaking, reading and writing English. I take English classes at his office on Tuesday at 10 am. I want to improve my English because in this country everyone speaks English. To get a job or talk with people in offices, or in stores you need to be able to speak English. I like Literacy Volunteers because they are good people and help me. My dream in this country is to learn wisdom [through my Christian faith].
My name is Janaq Rungolarri, I came to the United States from Albania to seek a better life. I recently was sworn in as a United States Citizen on April 9, 2014. It was a very proud day for me, and my tutor attended the ceremony with my wife and I. Through Literacy Volunteers, I have learned to read, write, and improve my spoken language skills by many grade levels. I began my journey here as a dishwasher and I am now employed by the Trappist Monastery full time and I am being trained in the art of winemaking. I am very grateful to Literacy Volunteers for providing the help I need to become a proud and productive citizen.
