I left Liberia to live in Ghana as a refugee with my family. In Ghana, things were very hard. I prepared to go back to Liberia, but my step daughter filed for my family to move to the United States. They told me one day and the next day we were going for an interview to leave. We went as a family and by the grace of God came to America in 2007. Since 2007 I have been trying to get a job. In 2007 I got a job offer through Masterson Personnel as a warehouse worker in Woodbury but after getting the job offer I could not get to the job because I did not have a car or a driver's license or a permit. I did not know America. I could not make my way there and I lost the job. The bus could not get to the job. I grieved so much. I came home that night and couldn't eat because I was feeling so bad. I started working with a temporary agency working a few days a week. Sometimes after 2 weeks of work I would make only $280. I would work very hard and make $7 or $8 per hour. Maybe $9.50. Sometimes I come from work at 1 AM and would have to catch the bus. I would have to run a distance from the Temporary office to downtown St. Paul to catch the final bus and I had 18 minutes. If I missed the bus, sometimes I had to sleep in the open because I did not have enough money to catch a taxi. Sometimes I cried, Oh God how come I suffer this way? But with all of this crying I had hope that someday I would overcome. So every cent I put away.
With all the money I made, my stepfather decided to take me to the bank to open
an account to start to save my money. When I got up to $1,600 I talked about
going to school in order to succeed. I went to a school and passed the classes
to become a Certified Nursing Assistant. I had to go for the state test and had
to study hard.
On December 18, 2008 the snow was so deep and I took the bus to take the test
and I was surprised and passed the test. The teacher came to me and told me I
passed. I was so happy. Coming home I was smiling and happy and I never felt the
cold. I went home and told my people I made it. I showed them the paper. Then I
started looking for a job. It was January 9, 2009 I went near my home looking
for a job at a nursing home near my home. But then, after the interview I was
expecting to get the job, but I didn't get anything. Maybe I didn't do well in
the interview or maybe I did not have experience in this area. So I have to keep
on. My church (Our Redeemer) people joined me to do some work looking on the
internet for a job. Mr. Dennis Peterson who I consider my Godfather here in
America and the intern pastor Janelle introduced me to Daily Work.
After working with Daily Work I was connected with some free community computer
classes and I worked on interview skills. After this time I applied for another
job and received a phone interview for a job with Bethany Covenant Village. I
did well. In the middle of the phone interview the woman advanced me to a second
interview. I was so happy. After the second interview it was easier and I went
through and after a week they offered me the job. Today I have gained more
skills. I take care of residents which I am happy to do. The people I work with
I consider to be my mother or father. The reason I went to Nursing Assistant
school was to make a difference in someone's life. I think I am doing that. I
see my residents and they are happy and they hope I am working for them each
day. Thank you to Daily Work.