The country where I put down my roots
Bragança, Portugal
Institutions involved
Educational institutions
Initiative Typology
University policies on access to higher education, Work opportunities
Problem addressed
Her migratory process takes place in two stages. Th first one in 2011 when she enrolls a technical specialization degree in the secretarial/management area. This is a post-secondary degree offered by higher education institutions and others lasting one year. The course has strong connections to the labor market and allows for continuance of higher education studies. She became aware of this course through her native municipality’s Town Hall. At the time, although she felt that information about its structure, the country town and destination institution were scarce, she opted to apply, as well as one of her sisters, having as her main goal to study. She asks her father’s support for food during that year. He gives her a positive signal. In a short while she ensures the minimal financial conditions to face the challenge. She counted on herself and her mother to raise the amount need to pay for her journey and first expenses.
On her arrival in the host country she realizes the financial need (only her mother supports her, her father who said he would, could not for the first three months). Therefore, in this first phase and taking into account her migratory objective, the problem is clearly financial: lack of financial resources to pay school fees, accommodation and essential goods.
The second phase begins in 2012 when she returns to her country of origin, after having managed to finish the technological specialization course. This return occurs because she considers that it would be very difficult to subsist any longer. As an older sister, she feels that she should be the one to return and that her sister should continue her studies. After her return, she found out about the existence of scholarships granted by the City Hall of her home town to continue her studies. At this point she considers that continuing her education is her life choice, so she returns to the same higher education institution and with the diploma she obtained she enters a degree in the area of languages and international relations. Although she can count on the scholarship granted by the City Hall, the financial problem persists. However, this time she is more aware of it and how to overcome it by her own means.
Meanwhile, she started working in a supermarket, started a family (husband and son) and created her own business. She hopes to finish her degree, as she only has to pass one subject.
Resilience strategies addressed by women
The strategies mobilized to cope with the problems, in the first phase, were centered on the financial support of the mother, the reception provided by a colleague from the same country, the support of the training institution and her own resilience. The mark of their first month in the host city is clear, particularly due to the financial difficulty experienced. It is the help from her mother that stands out in her memories. It was her mother, with the help of her grandmother, living in another country, who managed to send her some money. This, although scarce, allowed her to stay the first months in the host country and, in the meantime, her father also managed to give her a small amount of help. In the second phase, it is the support of the City Hall of his hometown that becomes relevant to achieve his goal.
Description of the integration initiative implemented
She feels integrated in the host country. She considers the city to be welcoming and as a student she had the normal misunderstandings because she was used to another culture, where respect for the teachers was greater. A culture where everyone speaks to each other on the street, where you know your neighbors, which is not the case in her host city. She feels used to it.
The measures implemented for her integration are related, in the first phase, to the persistence in not losing her objective, so she dedicates herself to her studies and tries to manage her few financial resources. She identifies in her social support network the peer group from the country of origin and the higher education institution pointed out as having played an important role in his integration.
In the second phase, which takes place from 2012 to the present day, the social network involves the friends, the institution, the work and the family that she has formed.
Personal story
She came to Portugal in 2011. She is 29 years old. She was born in Cape Verde, where she lived with her mother and two younger sisters. She never lived with her father. Her migratory goal was to obtain a degree to improve her life and that of her family (mother and sisters). She was accompanied by her middle sister who had the same objective. In the City Hall of her home town, she was informed about the existence of technological specialization courses in the educational institution to which she applied. This is how she chose Portugal as her destination country. When planning the migratory process, she asked her father for financial support, who promised it at the time. However, at first, only her mother, although with difficulty, managed to help her. In fact, it was always the mother who, in the face of the financial difficulties experienced, was her main source of support. When she arrived in the capital of the host country by plane, she had the help of an aunt at the embassy to deal with the necessary documentation to enroll in the higher education institution she had applied for. She travelled from the Portuguese capital to her destination city by bus. She felt that the journey lasted a long time, "it seemed that I would never arrive". She found the city strange, "it seemed different from everything else". A colleague from the same country gave her shelter and support in the initial phase. When we arrived, we didn't know anyone and we were lucky enough to be received by a young Cape Verdean woman who was here". She says that money was always scarce, it was necessary to make a great effort to finish the course: "We had a very, very difficult year".
In 2012, after finishing the course she returned to Cape Verde. As the older sister she felt that she should be the one to return, as it was not financially viable for the two sisters to remain in Portugal.
However, after arriving in Cape Verde, she learnt of the opportunity to return through a scholarship granted by the municipality of her home town. She immediately decided to return. She knew the city, liked its welcoming atmosphere and wanted to continue her studies. During her course, she tried to do a stay in Turkey under the Erasmus Programme, but her classmates decided to return before the end of the scheduled period and, in order not to be alone, she went back too. At that time, she failed an English subject. The following academic year she went to Spain for her internship. The difficulty in passing the English subject continued and the financial aid from the town council of her home town ended. She had to start work and had no spare time to be able to attend the classes of the missing subject. The conclusion of her degree is still pending for this reason. Then she became pregnant from her partner. He is also Cape Verdean and has been living in Portugal since 2011. They have been together for four years. It was in Portugal that they met. Their son is two and a half years old. The family has become her focus. She stresses: "we have a family, a life". She maintains a close relationship with her mother. She is proud to say that her son knows his grandmother personally: "Luckily we have already been to Cape Verde". The contact with her mother is made through internet connections. Although she thinks her son is too young to understand the culture of his homeland, she makes typical dishes and at home speaks the native language, creole.
The evolution that she has experienced since arriving in Portugal focuses mainly on her own financial resources. She initially worked as a cleaner and later as a cashier in a supermarket. This is where she became aware of racist attitudes. She noticed people changing queues to avoid being served by a black employee. She tried to get used to it and to overcome it. People got used to her and today she relates to some of them and they know her when they meet her on the street.
After getting some financial support from her partner, she became an entrepreneur and started her own business. She feels financially comfortable and happy.
Her sense of identity is based on belonging to two countries, her country of birth and her host country. She classifies herself as a hard-working and enterprising woman. She says that she has to work hard to achieve her goals. She finds in her work and in her determination the strategy to make her dreams come true. She wants to expand her business. She wants to bring her mother to Portugal, because even though she is young, she has the tiredness of a working life. She says: "my mother became a mother very early. We have a small age difference, 14 years. My mother had to work a lot. She had to work very early, for me and for my sisters. She adds: "the only thing I really miss is my mother, that is the only person I miss. My two sisters, they are here". She adds "I already have my family; I already have my roots here".
Analysis of the initiative and individual story
The migratory project of this woman is related to the search for higher education. The difficulties experienced are related to the lack of financial support. She finds it in herself, in her determination and in her entrepreneurial vein to feel integrated and in a comfortable financial situation.
Results and Impact
This success story highlights the importance of personal resilience characteristics to live in another country. In her migratory journey, the financial support of her mother (although scarce) and the City Hall of her home country (the scholarship), a colleague from the same country at an early stage, had great weight. The results of her success should be attributed to herself, to her work and determination.
