Description of the integration initiative implemented
She grew up in a mixed neighbourhood, where Portuguese and African families lived. She has several family members in Portugal who live in the metropolitan area of Lisbon, some of whom live in social neighbourhoods (mostly with residents of African origin) and others who, like her and her nuclear family, reside in what she has designated as “mixed neighbourhoods”.
She believes that the fact that she grew up and raised her children in a “mixed neighbourhood” constituted a facilitating factor in the inclusion of her family in the Portuguese society and, above all, a factor that justifies the school success of all her children.

Regarding her career, it is recorded that she went to school and studied until the 12th grade, which she did not complete. She dropped out of school because she got pregnant and started working at the age of 19. She has always worked in the field of cleaning, at the beginning of her professional career at an international bus company, later moved to a company providing cleaning services and currently works as a domestic worker in a family home.

She values education as an inclusion strategy, its main objective is that all her children have access to higher education. In this context, she mentions the support of the director of the School that her seven children attended.
She is a member of an Association of Cape Verdean women and vice-president of one of the governing bodies of an association for the education and dissemination of orchestral music.

Personal story
The participant's parents were born in Cape Verde and went to work in São Tomé and Príncipe in a coffee plantation. She was born in São Tomé e Princes and with little more than a year came to Portugal with her parents even before the process of independence of the Portuguese colonies in Africa. She has lived in Portugal since 1973 and maintains Cape Verdean nationality, without ever having been to Cape Verde.
This woman's parents did not have access to school education, even though her father learned to sign his name and to read even in a rudimentary way. She grew up in Portugal, in the metropolitan area of Lisbon, more specifically in Vila Franca, reports an experience in mixed neighbourhoods with residents of African and Portuguese origin, attended school until the 12th grade, had (and has) Portuguese friends and of African origin.
She left school before completing the 12th grade because she became pregnant, she was 19 years old.
She started working as a washer cleaner at a bus company, working during the night, from 10 pm to 6 am. When her eldest son entered school, she went to work during the day. Despite this change, the area of activity has always been the cleaning services.
She has seven children, the oldest is currently 28 and the youngest is 18. When the youngest child was 6 months old her husband left home, leaving her with the responsibility of educating and accompanying the children and supporting the family.
During the income verification process to access school social support for children and in view of the need to prove that the children's father did not contribute, the process of regulating parental power and responsibilities was triggered. In this sequence, the children's father was located and his financial incapacity to provide support to the family was declared, it was decided to allocate a support of 100 euros per child until they reached 18 years of age to be supported by the Portuguese State. From then on, the family achieved some financial stability
The educational paths of this woman's children are exemplary, two of whom are masters, one is doing her master's degree, another has completed her degree and will go on to apply for a master's degree next year, two are studying music and the youngest is completing the 12th grade and will do the national competition for access to higher education.
All members of the family live together and the older children, who already work, contribute financially to support the education of the younger siblings.
The 5 youngest children of this woman have original Portuguese nationality, one of the oldest has acquired Portuguese nationality and the other is dealing with the process. The research participant has Cape Verdean nationality even though she has never been to Cape Verde.

In terms of identity, this woman identifies herself with the Portuguese culture although she considers it important to maintain a connection with the Cape Verdean community in Portugal, to which she feels connected mainly through her mother and aunt, however she recognizes that as she grew up in Portugal she is also very marked by Portuguese culture. Regarding her children, she says that their fundamental references are from Portuguese culture.

he connection to Cape Verde is interpreted as a reference of her family’s culture, the typical gastronomy, and some cultural manifestations appear associated with the older elements of the family (extended). However, there is an appreciation of this dimension through associativism and participation in cultural events promoted by the Embassy of Cape Verde in Portugal, another aspect mentioned is the regular participation in the electoral processes of Cape Verde.
Regarding the civic participation of this woman in the Portuguese community, we highlight her commitment to an Association for the Promotion and Education of Orchestra Music, of which she is part of the governing bodies and her involvement with the activities promoted by the School in her area of residence and their participation in electoral processes related to local government.
Regarding the role of women in society and in the family, she considers that African culture (in general) relegates women to the private sphere and devalues their social role, she reveals a concern for the promotion of equal opportunities between men and women and says that this perspective was present in the education of her sons and daughters. Regarding this aspect, she also indicates that the valorisation of the male figure is also very present in communities of African origin who live in more closed neighbourhoods over the community itself.

Analysis of the initiative and individual story
This woman's life path is closely linked to school pathways, both in terms of the narrative about herself and the projects and itineraries drawn up for her children.
She considers that having had access to the school contributed to having reached her personal goals, we emphasize that her educational path was longer than that of compulsory schooling for her age.
Her main objectives are related to the education of her children. Throughout this process, she has resorted to public measures to promote access to education, such as School Social Support and also to local measures to combat school failure and dropout, namely access to education programs and projects such as the “Orquestra Geração”. She always made sure that her children had access to the measures and programs available and was vigilant in relation to the quality of the school offers that were being offered to them.
Her involvement with the children's school has allowed her to become a reference in the community with children and young people of African origin and their families, and in the rest of the educational community.
In terms of education, she is critical of some programs to combat school failure of immigrants and minorities that, according to her point of view, limit the choices and opportunities that many young people will have in the future.
Emphasis is placed on the clarity with which this woman interprets her situation of “in between two cultures” and her efforts so that her children have the best educational opportunities. She highlights the difficulties of including communities that live in culturally homogeneous (and non-hegemonic) neighbourhoods. In her point of view, the fact that she is a foreigner has not seemed to be a factor of discrimination, however, she refers to the colour of her skin as an element that still limits opportunities especially for work.

Results and Impact
In this woman's career, two remarkable results stand out: the fact that she has always had a job, even though during her professional career she has changed jobs; and the successful school career of her seven children.