An American Story of HOPE

To celebrate Independence day this year, HOPE Literacy is sharing a series of stories of HOPE -- people who have come to our programs, learned English, studied for the naturalization exam, and become American citizens. These are some of the proudest Americans in the country because they understand all too intimately that freedom is never free.

Consider the story of Thang:

Thang and her family fled for their lives into the Malaysian jungle when persecution arose against them in Myanmar. After some time in a refugee camp, she and her family were granted refugee status by the United Nations and were resettled in Fort Worth. Two years ago, she began English/Citizenship classes with HOPE/World Relief. Last year, she passed the exam and became a US Citizen.

Or the story of Irina and Igor:

Irina and Igor, a couple from Belarus,

attended more than one semester of

citizenship because they enjoyed the

fellowship. They soon became informal co-teachers--facilitating lessons, sharing study strategies, and encouraging others. After they secured their U.S. citizenship in 2018, they returned to future sessions to explain to students what their interview and testing experience was like. The couple was able to paint a real-life experience of the process. Irina and Igor continue to encourage citizenship students and are proud citizens of the US, enjoying American life with their grandchildren.

You can find a series of such stories on our facebook page, released throughout the first week in July.