Teaching English

Gonzalo was a graduate and a manager in his native Colombia. Then everything changed. He was forced to flee as a political refugee.

‘I say to young people, “Look at me. I couldn’t speak English and all my qualifications made no difference here.” But I knew that with Pecan’s help, victory was in my own hands.’

Gonzalo was a graduate and a manager in his native Colombia before being forced to flee as a political refugee.

On arriving in the UK, his lack of English prevented him from finding work.

As our staff and volunteers knocked on doors in the North Peckham estate, a host of similar cases began to emerge – talented and motivated people who were desperate to work, but were confronted by a language barrier which seemed impossible to overcome.

At Pecan we saw the need and, in May 1993, responded with our first English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) course.

It was an overnight success and within a year it was supporting over a hundred individuals, including a Bangladeshi chef, a Ukrainian nuclear engineer and a Brazilian hairdresser.

From humble beginnings as a simple language course, ESOL went on to become one of our most successful endeavours. It has run for over 17 years, providing vital language, social, and employment support to thousands of people. These people would otherwise have been excluded.

Gonzalo managed to secure funding to run the Colombian Football Club, a project aimed at getting young people off the street and into football.

His story and the issues he faced recur throughout our history. Time and time again, as we refuse to stop believing, as we work to remove simple barriers, many individuals are released to reach their God given potential.