Ancestral Country of Origin: Venezuela
Share a brief story about how or why your ancestors came to the U.S.:
My name is Zaza. I come from Venezuela, South America. I left my country in 2018, a decision that was due to the situation in the country since it is a communist government situation. I had to deal with insecurity, a deficiency in electricity, and water and gasoline shortages — and this was all with all the sanctions that the country has with the USA. The situation was getting more difficult every day, and my children had already left the country. I have two boys and one girl. Since my children left, I did not want to stay with the insecurity of not knowing what would happen there. My first new location was Panama, where my daughter had gone to live with her husband. I stayed there for a year and a half, taking care of my grandson. Then I decided to come live in the USA in August 2019 to look for better opportunities.
I arrived in New Jersey and went to my oldest son’s house. Then I went to be with my older sister, who currently lives in Lewes, Delaware. She has been in the USA for 30 years. She told me that in Delaware there were good job options. In January 2020, I moved in with her. A couple of months later, COVID-19 hit and I was there with my sister, basically locked up. Because of this, my residency documents were delayed a little, but in July of that same year, I received my work permit and started looking for a job. I had an interview with Fulton Bank, and they hired me to be a loan officer and serve the Hispanic community. I learned a lot from them, and then, pursuing my desire to have a job where I felt more comfortable, I applied for a job in the Cape Henlopen School District and started last year as a substitute paraeducator. But I was really looking for a permanent job with benefits and to continue in the field of education. I started looking again and finally discovered La Esperanza Community Center. I was hired and now am working with them in a new program called Opciones, which is very rewarding since we help many Latinos and immigrants grow professionally and to be able to achieve a better standard of life.