Alzira Agostinho
My name is Alzira Agostinho, originally from Mozambique but now living in Vermont. This is my story and how I ended up in Vermont. Before coming to Vermont, I was a Catholic Sister for five years. However, I decided to leave the congregation of Sisters because I did not want to be part of that group any longer. After that, I started searching for a job. Eventually, I was hired as a teacher. I taught math and social studies for four years. I was then promoted to be a principal at a primary school (elementary and middle school). I also served with the ruling political party “FRELIMO” as a member of a consulting committee in our district. After that, I was working for the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) malaria consortium. That’s when I met my husband as he was a teacher at a secondary school (high school) in the same area that I was working in. I was officially married in 2012. At that time, my husband was relocated to the United States as a refugee. I could not accompany him because I did not have the proper visa . Once my husband arrived in the U. S., he applied for our reunification. The reunification process was very long. It took a little over five years for me to be reunited with him in America.
First, I had to travel to Johannesburg, South Africa on four separate occasions. The first time, I went for an interview at the U.S. Embassy. Then, I had to go twice more for the medical check-up and vaccination. The fourth and last time I went to South Africa I was able to obtain and pick up my U. S. visa. The U. S. immigration services required me to go to South Africa because the U.S. embassy in Mozambique does not provide visa services for those who wish to enter and reside in America. In March 2017, I finally had my U.S. visa in hand. I left Mozambique on March 24 that same year and arrived at a New York City airport on March 25. My husband met me at the New York City airport when I arrived and we drove all the way up to Vermont. It was a long trip, about 29 hours from Mozambique to our final Vermont destination.
Now, I am finally here in Vermont together with my husband. As soon as I arrived in Vermont, I started to attend an English class at O’Brien Center in Winooski as my native language is Portuguese. My English class teacher is Sherry Star. Sherry is very patient and concerned about her students. In addition to English class, I also started working at City Market. I am a grocery bagger in the City Market store in the South End of Burlington.
Since late 2019, I am also learning about computers and technology with Bjorn from Technology for Tomorrow. Computer skills are very important in my life because if I know how to use a computer, I will have more opportunities in the future. For example, if I go to college, I will need to use a computer to write my research papers. If I get a job promotion, I will need to use a computer. There are many things one can do online such as checking the news, doing banking, researching library books, and looking for jobs if knowing how to use a computer. Having sound computer skills, I can accomplish all that and more.
Thanks to the technology education services provided by Technology for Tomorrow, I have been able to learn such skills. In summary, combining English language learning with technology training is essential for New Americans according to Jennifer. She concludes that utilizing technology lessons to help make the language comprehensible to English language learners is a very effective technique, made possible through collaboration with T4T, now and in the future.