LEE, Mass. - Twice a week, Leslie Ioffredo comes to the Lee Library to meet with Guadalupe Miranda and help her learn English.
“When I arrived five years ago, I did not speak English,” said Miranda, a native of El Salvador. “I did not understand it.”
“We work on pronunciation, vocabulary,” said Ioffredo, who volunteers her time to serve as a tutor. “Because she’s a student at (Berkshire Community College), there are times where I might help her with her homework.”
The two were connected about a year and a half ago through the Literacy Network of South Berkshire, a nonprofit which helps people learn English and build literacy skills. Ioffredo said they made an instant connection.
“She’s a total inspiration to me,” said Ioffredo. “She works full time, she’s a student at Berkshire Community College, and she’s working towards her citizenship.”
Ioffredo and Miranda are one of more than 100 tutor-learner pairs connected through LitNet.
The organization is celebrating its 30th anniversary this year with a traveling photography exhibition in which several learners share, in their own words, how the program has helped them.
“They had to do it in 250 words, so it was challenging to tell their story,” said Leigh Doherty, LitNet’s executive director. “It’s in a book, it’s in these lovely photos, and they’re quite moving and powerful stories.”
While Ioffredo’s and Miranda’s story isn’t featured in the exhibition, they both said their experience with lit net has changed their lives for the better.
“It’s helped a lot,” said Miranda. “Because I’ve improved my English with my friends, my job, and in school.”
“There’s many times when Guadalupe might share something about her culture or a life experience, or maybe we’ve read an essay and she offers a different way of looking at something,” said Ioffredo. “So I realize that I’m learning just as much as she is.”