Meet Lilia, a student in our Oportunidades program. Oportunidades is our new reinforcement program for students from grades 8 and up who attend public schools. We recently sat down with Lilia to learn more about her and her experiences at Safe Passage.

I am 15 years old, and I’m in Tercero Básico [third year of middle school]. I’ve been a student at Safe Passage for 5 years.

My brother and cousin are both in Oportunidades at the CRE with me. My brother is in Segundo Básico [second year of middle school], and my cousin is in Tercero Básico with me.

My other brother works in the City. My mother works taking care of the house and family, and my dad sells recyclables that he buys from sorters in the dump.

What are the differences between your school and Safe Passage?

At Safe Passage we receive lots of extra help with homework and we get to use the psychology department and health clinic. School is a lot bigger with a wider arrange of classes. There’s also lots of fights at school, but none at Safe Passage.

What do you like most about coming to Safe Passage?

I like to learn and at Safe Passage I can learn English to better my future. My favorite class is natural sciences, because I love nature and science.

Tell us about your Quinceañera experience.

My Quinceañera was a great experience, I loved it!

It was a very unique time that made me feel very special and pretty. Plus, it was important to my parents, and they also felt very special that day. It felt very different from my other birthdays, since it’s something I’ll only do once in my life. It was also fun preparing with the volunteers and other girls my age. [Learn more about the Safe Passage Quinceañera process here].

What are your hopes and dreams for the future?

I want to be a doctor when I grow up. I want to help people and save lives. I hope to continue studying and become a great doctor so I can help my family and serve this community.