It was always my dream to have a job in America. The AmeriCorps program has brought my dream to reality.
I have been serving as the “Parents as Teachers” AmeriCorps team member at New American Pathways since October of 2016. This has been one of the best experiences of my life. Primarily, my goal in this position was to build a background of employment in the USA. To my surprise, I am actually learning more, and meeting a lot of people with different perspectives and cultures. I am allowing these experiences to grow me as a person.
My position is to support Parents as Teachers and School Liaison programs through connecting families with community resources. I also organize workshops and group connections that cover parenting and school-related topics. I arrived in America back in 2015, and was resettled by New American Pathways.
My wife was not able to speak English at all, and was very interested in learning the language. At that time my son was not ready for pre-K; she needed to stay at home to take care of our son. I was looking for some ESL classes, but I was not able to find affordable classes or child care. For almost one and half years, she was a stay-at-home mom. Simultaneously, I joined AmeriCorps and started serving at New American Pathways. This position has given me the ability to provide for my family.
Through New American Pathways, I learned about the English at Home program. My family was accepted into this program. They sent a teacher to my house who taught English to my wife. Now my wife is able to speak and understand basic words.
Being an AmeriCorps member is a lot of labor for a small amount of money, but it is a great experience to really learn and help others in need.
Interested in serving the refugee community through AmeriCorps? New American Pathways will soon be recruiting for our 2017-2018 team! Stay tuned for postings.