Why are you here?

Ever since childhood, my parents have always encouraged me to give back to people in a way which would impact their lives. I have always believed that, yes, the less fortunate can always do with some amount of money being donated to them; but I feel that giving them ones’ time is always more valuable. This is the very reason which I went with Habitat for Humanity and built houses in both Thailand and Cambodia. Along with my Habitat for Humanity work, I have also helped build beds in an orphanage in Sri Lanka, from the fascination that the kids showed with the books we brought them, I learned that education is the most important thing that one can give to the needy. Inspired from the joy that I was able to bring the families from Habitat for Humanity and the kids from Sri Lanka using my time and energy solidified my idea that the best kind of charity work is not charity, but to enable the needy to be able to progress their lives forward and out of poverty. With the Language Bridges Program, I feel that it is the perfect opportunity to provide the migrant workers with the tools that are required for them to progress their lives.

After reading both the articles on the situation that the migrant workers are placed in, I have been inspired to help them hoping that my help will allow them to move on from being laborers to having a job which will give their lives more comfort and fewer hardships. The shocking statistics from both articles made me think of how unfair it is that these workers are taken advantage of simply because of the fact that they are unable to defend themselves. I believe that if they knew English, then they would be able to read their contracts and hopefully be able to find solutions to the situation that they are placed in. I hope that with the basic knowledge of basic English, these workers will be able to go out on their own and engage in perfecting their English. This perfection of English should be able to land them in a better situation than they are currently in.

 Knowing that the majority of these workers are from my home country I feel like it will be extremely beneficial for both the workers and my home country that they are educated. Seeing that English is becoming the global language, I hope that by teaching the workers English, they will have the tools required to go back to their homes and improve not only their lives, but the people of their home towns. From the language bridges program I hope to gain the skills required to become an effective teacher. I also want to gain the satisfaction in knowing that my actions are able to have a positive impact on somebody’s life.  My expectation for the Language Bridges Program is that the migrant workers show up to the class eager to learn a language that will benefit them and which could potentially turn their lives around.