Trainees

Born in Zulia, Venezuela, Yessenia grew up with her grandmother, who raised 12 children as a single mother. Their home was the center for all family and holiday gatherings. Yessenia had a happy childhood until Maduro illegally claimed the presidency of Venezuela in 2019. Since then, more than 5.4 million Venezuelans have fled the country and Yessenia was one of them.  Yessenia escaped to Columbia and lived there for 7 years. In July of 2024 Yessenia, her husband, and 3 young children were resettled to Providence, RI. She vividly remembers being met by staff from Dorcas International at the airport...

Albert grew up in Munich, Germany. His family, secular Jews, were entrepreneurs making electrical equipment. Albert chafed under rote learning and militarized nationalism, so when his family moved to Italy, he renounced his citizenship. He finished school in Switzerland, where he married, took his first job as a patent clerk, played the violin, and began writing scientific papers. As a scientist, Albert required independent thought and creative expression. This made for a difficult career path. Still, in 1913 he settled in Berlin, accepted citizenship, developed the general theory of relativity, won the Nobel prize, and bought a sailboat for afternoon daydreaming. His 20 years in...

Zayi was born in Western Burundi and moved to Kavumu Refugee Camp in Eastern Burundi when she was only a few years old. Zayi lived there for 7 years with her mother, sister and brother. Her youngest brother was born at the camp. In May 2022, Zayi was resettled to Providence with her family. She enrolled in 9th grade at Central High School, not speaking any English. Zayi worked hard and learned English with the help of her teachers, and lots of reading, studying, and watching movies. Zayi loves Korean and Chinese dramas which she watches with English subtitles. Last...

Born in Homs, Syria, Nagwa went to college and became a dentist. She worked in rural areas before opening her own practice in the city. When the war broke out in 2011, Nagwa moved to the US with her 2 young children.  In Providence, Nagwa started taking ESL classes at CCRI and a friend told her about Beautiful Day’s farmers’ market program. Nagwa enrolled and started selling Beautiful Day’s products at the Aquidneck Growers Market. There, her English quickly improved as she spoke with customers about granola and the job training she was receiving at Beautiful Day.  After 1 ½...

Born in Homs, Syria, Wfaa moved to Jordan with her family as refugees when she was 7 years old. Her father was a realtor and her mother stayed at home, raising 6 children. Wfaa spent 11 years in Jordan, where she completed high school with a love of reading and learning. In early 2016, Wfaa’s family was told they would be resettled to the US. They finally arrived in Providence, RI in June of 2024 - after an 8 years long wait! A family friend sponsored them and the Diocese of Providence introduced Wfaa to Beautiful Day’s job training program. ...

Fariba was born and raised in Kabul, Afghanistan. Her childhood was not happy, but she kept a goal of becoming a doctor or journalist. Her parents did not allow her to attend school, and she married at a young age. She was expected to cook and clean for her in-laws who kept an unattainable standard, which added to her difficult life. Fariba was widowed in 2017 and moved to Turkey with her four children, where she spent nine years working late nights in a restaurant and days as a housekeeper. In October 2023 she and two of her children migrated...