I grew up in Les Cayes, Haiti. After High School in 2005, I moved to Port-au-Prince for college. Three years later, I enrolled in two courses; one of them was English. I fall in love with English because first, English was the most affordable course I could take after High School. Second, I used the language to teach and connect with people, and third, it got me my first US visa. This story is one out of thousands where a lot of young Haitians use English as a bridge to their goals. Consequently, promoting A Haiti Anglophone became a dream of mine as the language is being utilized more and more by the young Haitian population.
In the years 2008, there were a lot of English Institutes that offered half scholarships to young Haitian who just finished high school. It was the most affordable language.I was one of the beneficiaries. I spent 12 months completing 6 books; it was from book 1 or beginner to book 6 or advanced. After the completion of the books, I had to go to a special program for another 6 months to have more skills to speak the language. It was a great experience because, right after I was done, I started my first job as an interpreter. I used that money to pay for college.
Consistency was the key to bettering myself on a daily basis. I used the language to teach and connect with people ; I started receiving offers from people that wanted me to teach them at home. I spent two years giving private classes in the comfort of their homes. I got paid very well to do so and, of course, I invested most of the money I made in my college goals. I was not the only one; it was lots of young Haitians who used their English skills as a bridge to support their studies and families. In 2012, I left Haiti for a Spanish country. That is where I started making good money simply because I speak the language.
English, this important language, got me my first U.S visa. When I arrived in the other country, I started working in call centers. Eight days after I arrived, I found my first Call Center job. Six months later, I got another job where I was working as a Customer Service representative for two years. Even though my parents sent me to that country for studies, they did not spend too much on me because my English got my back.
I was able to pay for my monthly bills—rent, internet, food, and school. As I kept challenging myself, I applied for an international position with a US company. They sent me a letter to go to the US Embassy for an interview. I remember doing the interview in English with the consulate. After a few questions, she gave me my first one-year visa to travel to the US for work.
In summary, my experience with English reflects the reality of thousands of Haitian men and women who used that language to accomplish great things in their lives. We spent more than twenty years receiving our education in the French language, but we barely use it to accomplish something great. However, I expose to the public the importance of speaking English; the language was very easy for me to learn, connected me with people and got me my first US work visa--that is why I fall in love with it. Not only was the outcome mean for my personal life, but also has an impact on some communities in Haiti where my team and I from Mimofam are supporting the peasants and their kids.
Ge Augustin,a chosen one peasant.
Notes: We determine to help the kids learn English, Bible/civic and more. So, we would be so appreciative if you could help us buy materials (English programs and laptops) for our Children Learning House program. Your donation will help us move forward with this mission.