NEW English Student Wins Volunteer Legacy Award

Every year the City of Toronto celebrates volunteers. This year we're so proud to celebrate one of our students who was chosen from more than 100 entries for the Legacy Awards.

Helena Nynaoh was awarded in the category of Growth and Learning. This category celebrates personal and professional growth through volunteering. Helena, who is a student in the Newcomer Women’s Services English class for seniors, has been a tireless volunteer at Newcomer Women's Services program. 

"I didn't use to understand people when I was speaking, so the volunteering gave me the courage to understand and communicate and to know people and make new friends," says Helena. 

Let's meet Helena. 

When Helena was a little girl, growing up in West Africa, she knew she could count on her mother's love. 

"She didn't want anybody to give me any trouble," says Helena. But trouble found her—and just about everybody else who lived in civil—war-wracked Liberia in the 1990s.

That Helena is now safe and contributing to life in Canada, where she arrived in 2016, is a testament not only to her perseverance and will but also to the guidance of Newcomer Women's Services, Toronto. 

"I was holding my baby in my hands when my husband was beaten to death," Helena recalled, her voice halting at the memory. "We had all these children and I was struggling."

Helena Nynaoh

Of their nine children, two died. Her mother had passed away when Helena was just 20, so she was all alone. Their war-ravaged family was now in a refugee camp in the neighbouring Republic of Côte d'Ivoire – a restive nation itself. And Helena was grievously ill, languishing near death in a field hospital.

"I remember asking God: 'Please help me,'" she recounted. Helena made a silent vow that if she recovered, she would do her part to help people. That pledge—and her drive to honour it—remains her guiding principle. 

"I've always admired her determination and persistence," says Dhurata Sinani, who is Helena’s English teacher, later adding that the hardships her student endured would have left many of us without hope. 

"Newcomer Women's Services changed my life," Helena says beaming. "When I came to Canada, I could not understand very much at all. When I started English classes here, my teachers said to talk.  'Just talk, don't be afraid.'"

"Dhurata and my classmates, they comforted me, they gave me confidence. I have a feeling of freedom now; we are not just a teacher and students; we are friends. They are like my sisters."

Helena Nynaoh

One of her classmates, Norma Rojas, says Helena’s painful story touched her." When I met Helena, she would rarely talk or smile because she was very shy. Now, after three years in school, she can speak English quite well. Helena is such a kind person; she never complains.”

In addition to teaching her English, Dhurata also taught Helena how to knit. "We started with a complicated pattern," recalls Dhurata. "It was not easy. You can't imagine how many times we'd start, then unravel and start again. She never said, 'I can't do this!' She learned it, and it was a triumph." A triumph, exemplified by an intricate and detailed white woolly cardigan that Helena proudly displays. "It was very complicated!” she laughs.

Helena has also been active in the LETS singing program, which resumed last fall. "It was the first time in my life to sing," she smiles, adding that it makes her feel "cheerful."

There is laughter during our conversation, but also longing. One of her children is with her in Toronto; the rest are in Africa. They connect on Whatsapp and messenger, but she acknowledges this can never replace seeing her children in person. 

"Helena tells me that her children's situation is not good. I can see she is worried sometimes," adds Dhurata. But concern, that energy, manifests itself in ways that help Newcomer Women's Services. Helena is a tireless volunteer, ready to chip in by serving food, cleaning up, and organizing craft tables (pre-COVID).

"Her friends love her very much, and you can see why,” says Dhurata.

That love is returned, exponentially.

"I am so grateful," says Helena, mindful of the hardships she has endured. "I am grateful to God and to Newcomer Women’s Services. They've been so good to me. I am happy to be with them." 

Interested in learning more about our English Language Program? Click here.