Success Stories
March 2011
Manuela is an intelligent young woman from South America. She met and married her husband, a Canadian, in her native country.
He persuaded Manuela that they should move to Canada. He said life would be much better in Canada. Manuela was reluctant to go, she had a large family which was very close and she was used to seeing on a daily basis. Also her English was not very good and she was afraid she wouldn’t be able to communicate.
Life in Canada was very traumatic for Manuela. She was isolated from her family and friends, she couldn’t reach out to the community because she didn’t speak English very well. Used to go out to work daily in her home town she found it very difficult to stay in all day, with no one to talk to and no outside stimulation.
Her husband began to change. He was no longer the loving and caring man she had met and married. He became very demanding and controlling. She was not allowed to go anywhere or meet with anyone without his permission. Manuela became a virtual prisoner in her own home.
Manuela learned to speak English by watching television and over a series of several months her English language skills improved tremendously. She made friends with a woman in her apartment building.
It was while speaking with her friend that she disclosed how terrible things were at home. Her friend called Ernestine’s crisis line and made arrangements for Manuela to get to the shelter.
Manuela was at Ernestine’s for 10 months, during this time she went to school and took a marketing course, dramatically improved her English language skills and has opened her own import/export business. She has regained her self-confidence, is excited about her new business and is living independently in her own place.
In a letter Manuela sent to Ernestine’s she wrote: “Today I leave this place and I can say I’m no longer the same person. I have learned, grown and matured and none of this would have been possible without God and the love, commitment and dedication that each of the people working in this wonderful place have had for me and all the women who arrive here without hope, afraid, powerless to keep going and without the ability to see the way out. I would like each of you to be aware that every day you “invest” in this place has an enormous impact on many lives. Thank you very much, you guys will be in my heart forever and I’m proud to belong from now on to the family of Ernestine’s Women’s Shelter.”
58,486
women and 36,840 children sought refuge in one of the 473 shelters across Canada, between April 1, 2003 and March 31, 2004.
