One of the first things you’ll notice when you enter Amira’s home is the warm welcome and hospitality. She takes great pride in preparing coffee and foods for guests — often a delicious Syrian treat — and welcomes you into her family. While taking part in our Digital Jumpstart program, this is how she always welcomes her trainer, Erin, into her home.

Amira and her family fled Syria in 2014, living in a refugee camp in Jordan for five years before coming to Moncton, New Brunswick in 2019.

Amira is blind. At the age of 14, she developed a condition in which she started gradually losing her sight, and by 21, was no longer able to see.

With the high cost of living in Canada, it can be difficult to make ends meet. Amira wanted to find meaningful employment and help provide for her family. She has been taking ESL courses through the Multicultural Agency of the Greater Moncton Area (new window), as well as participating in the Skills Launch (new window) program, an employment program for immigrants and refugees, where she was referred to Neil Squire’s Digital Jumpstart program to receive the computer equipment and training she needs for employment.

Through the Digital Jumpstart program, Amira received a new laptop, external keyboard, a full license of JAWS (new window) and TypeAbility (new window), and raised keyboard stickers.

Without the JAWS software, Amira would not be able to participate in digital literacy training. JAWS is a heavy program, requiring memorization of keyboard commands, a keen and adept ear to listen for keywords and prompts; however, Amira has taken each lesson in stride and practices her skills to ensure she retains what she has learned.

TypeAbility is a voiceover software designed to help people with visual impairments learn to type. Not only is this program assisting Amira to learn her keyboard, but she is improving her English skills by learning how to write words in English that she has previously only understood from auditory phonetics.

And not all solutions have to be high-tech. Her trainer, Erin, picked up some raised stickers of different shapes from the dollar store and added them to some reference point keys so Amira had some additional tactile feedback when searching for particular keys.

Amira is grateful for the learning she has done, saying that she has a new sense of hope. Participating in Digital Jumpstart has provided her with a real sense of moving forward with her goal of securing employment to be able to contribute to the family financially.

“Thank you, Erin, thank you for everything,” she says with a big smile to her trainer.

Amira’s focus right now is improving her digital literacy skills. She has recently been approved for a Disability Support Program that will include support for a job coach. Amira is connected with the Canadian Deaf Blind Association (new window), who is supporting her with independent living, and our Creative Employment Options program to support her with job search and job readiness.

Amira has dedicated countless hours to memorizing the keyboard and continues to dedicate so much time and energy to learning computer skills. In a true form of Syrian hospitality, she has embraced this training whole heartedly, invited Neil Squire into her home, and has demonstrated such gratitude and appreciation for all the tools and skills that she is acquiring. However, it is Neil Squire that has gratitude for being part of her journey and her path to achieving her goals.