Learning New Skills Gave Me the Hope of a Permanent Life in the UK By Melanie Pablo
I joined VODW's classes wanting to learn and improve both my skills and my knowledge, arriving excited about what six months to a year of ESOL, IT, Mediacom, Body Mind and Wellness, and Financial Literacy classes might bring. I believed, from the very start, that learning was still possible for me, a belief that quickly proved itself true.
Across academic subjects and practical life skills alike, I found myself growing in ways that reached beyond the classroom. During my sessions, I felt reconnected with myself, a quiet but meaningful shift for anyone who spends most of her days caring for the needs of others. I feel real gratitude, thankful to be part of a group of people willing to help and support one another, a community that clearly gave me as much as any individual lesson did. I was unable to attend my graduation ceremony in person, but that does not diminish what the classes gave me.
My message to my teachers is warm and specific, thanking them for their patience and understanding, and telling them plainly that their lessons taught me more than anything. I am grateful, too, simply for the opportunity to be part of such an amazing community.
Looking ahead, my hope is honest and deeply personal, to get a permanent visa and stay legally in the UK. That hope reflects exactly the uncertainty so many domestic workers live with every day, and it points directly to why VODW continues to campaign 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. For me, these are not abstract policy goals, they are the very thing standing between my current life and the secure, settled future I am working toward, one class and one skill at a time.
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