Siryi is a proud mom to 2 lovely girls, and even though the arrival of the oldest put a hold on her studies (she was studying her undergrad), there is no denying how much they are loved by both their parents. While they were living in Honduras, Siryi sold cups of fresh fruit, desserts, churros, crepes, or any other thing she could learn to make on YouTube

.They were living in relative peace and happiness, but in her country, nobody can get away from the violence that seems to permeate everything, and so the family came face-to-face with a decision: help distribute merchandise for the drug cartels or lose their lives. Siryi and her husband did not want to succumb to the threats, that is why they filed a complaint against them (both with the Police and a Human Rights Office) to no avail.

The family saw their livelihood threatened, burned, and crashed.

Luckily for them, a relative living in the US helped them flee their country, and while they thought the distance was enough to get away from the danger, life would prove them wrong. In the Mexican State of Quintana Roo, they were kidnapped and held captive for several days until the ransom was paid.

Arriving at Anapra House was met with a bittersweet feeling: they were finally at the northern border of Mexico but this country doesn’t feel safe either. Siryi was looking for something to occupy her mind, to try to return to some sense of normalcy, when she heard about some English and IT classes being offered inside the shelter.

Shy during that very first registration session, with a measured and almost murmured voice, she asked what was needed to participate, and the answer brought a big smile to her face: just your willingness to participate and commit to the program.

Siryi was very quiet during those first few classes, taking notes and almost afraid to raise her hand to ask a question. But she was attentive and eager to learn, something I could appreciate after our first movie session: hearing beautiful laughter and her saying in English “thank you, teacher, I really like this”.

Her confidence grew tenfold, to a point where it was not difficult to hear her arguing during our practice games of a type of scattergory, defending her words and the points she earned in each round. She was not hesitant to raise her hand to ask a question, or request more explanation about a certain topic; her attention to detail helped her to keep up and improve class to class, allowing her to mentor some of her struggling classmates.

WorkWell has helped this amazing woman find her voice again, peeling off those layers of society-imposed hate and definitions, strengthening her resolve to achieve her dreams – for her and her daughters-. And while she continues to wait for the news that can possibly change her family’s life, Siryi demonstrates that her past struggles did not break her – they only made her stronger.