I have been tutoring Fatima for about three months now. I’m always amazed at how bright she is and how well she’s progressing. Tutoring is not only personally rewarding, but it’s also challenging and a great way to develop my creative and communications skills. - Carol Cohen

Ian Charles, at age 29 is learning to read. And as a result, he says, "I’m a totally different person. A lot of frustration is gone now, a lot of stress." Ian dropped out of school in the eleventh grade, and, after entering our program started his own business. As owner of Charles’ Limousine Service, Ian attributes a good deal of his success to learning how to read, an activity he enjoys sharing with his two young children. "I love words," states Ian, "I wish I’d started reading earlier." Ian’s inspirational life story was featured in the Washington Post Magazine on May 28, 1995.

Zainab Hussein, a Somali born in South Yemen, arrived in the United States as a refugee with her husband and two sons. Since entering our program in 1990, Zainab has obtained a child care provider’s license, her driver’s license and her green card. Zainab states, "Since coming to the Literacy Council, my life has gotten better. Finally, I say I am proud to be in this county which gave me and my family the opportunity to live in dignity and freedom and to practice my human rights. My goals are to learn how to read and write English and join those who care about the development of this great country."

Bobby Joe Small, has been a student with the Literacy Council of NorthernVirginia since 1991. Before Bobby Joe enrolled in the Basic Literacy program, he had received a total of three month’s schooling. "My family moved a lot," says Bobby Joe, "and it was embarrassing to be 10 or 12 and go to the first grade. My father told me that I didn’t have to go to school." Learning reading, writing and math skills have opened new doors for Bobby Joe. "It’s a joy to be able to sit down at the table and study my lessons," he says. Bobby Joe takes great pleasure in writing letters to his family and friends. He has written his autobiography, "Gypsy In the Holy Spirit" and got his high school diploma.

To read more about our students, check out our student essay publication