Fighting for My Rights Started With Learning to Believe I Could Cope By Stella
I came to VODW carrying more than a wish to learn English. I needed assistance with my own case, but just as importantly, I wanted to understand how things worked in the UK and, in my own words, learn how to fight for my rights. That combination, practical need and personal determination, shaped my entire experience from the very first curious step through the door.
Honestly, I did not expect much when I started, I simply wanted to understand the rules and know what to do. But over six months to a year in ESOL and IT classes, something more happened. I learned to communicate in English somehow, and I no longer feel as shy as I once did, a change that reshaped how I move through the world. During my sessions I felt reconnected with myself, watched my stress lift, and built real confidence, one conversation at a time.
There is a moment I will never forget, words spoken during class that told me to just keep fighting and always pray, because the Lord will not give a problem that cannot be handled. Looking back, in a mix of English and Tagalog, I can say VODW helped me enormously because there were things I never imagined I was capable of, and now I know differently. I was unable to attend my graduation, having just come from surgery, but even from a distance, I carry deep gratitude toward my teacher for helping improve my knowledge.
My hope for the future is simple and open hearted, hope for the best for all of us.
That hope is exactly what VODW works toward through its ongoing campaigns, the fight for the right to renew the ODW visa, the right to change employer without restriction, the right to settlement, and the right to British citizenship, protections that would mean everything to a woman who came to VODW not just to learn a language, but to learn how to stand up for herself in a country still new to her. My story is proof that sometimes the first and bravest step toward fighting for your rights is simply walking into a room willing to learn how.
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