Amina’s road to the United States has been long and often painful.
In her home country of Iraq, Amina lived with her husband and their three sons. Tragedy struck the family when her husband was killed during the fighting between the Sunni and Shiite sects. Tragedy struck again when a farming accident killed one of her young sons.
Devastated, she and her remaining sons moved in with family for a time but soon had to flee to Syria. The war and violence in Syria became worse and she once again fled for her life. This time to Malaysia. In Malaysia, Amina was not allowed to work so her brother sent her money to survive.
Finally, in 2015, she and her children came to the United States., where CCC helped to resettle them into a small apartment.
Amina attended CCC’s ESL class and worked hard to get her driver’s license. She found a job in housekeeping with hours that allowed her to be home with her children in the afternoons and evenings. Amina was soon promoted to supervisor and recently purchased her first home. Her children are good students in middle and high school and plan to attend college when they’re older. This year, Amina will apply for U.S. citizenship and hopes to be able to travel to visit her brother, whom she hasn't seen in 24 years.
While her journey has been difficult, Amina's perseverance has brought her a long way.
"She is a hard worker and a good mom," said her CCC resettlement caseworker. "I have no doubt that she will achieve whatever she puts her mind to!"