A native of El Salvador and a Californian since 1977, Rosario has worked for many years as an advice nurse at Clinica La Raza in Oakland. She took a leave of absence to take care of her husband, and now both are isolated at home due to the pandemic. The stay-at-home mandates also meant the computer classes she had signed up for at Mission Neighborhood Center were canceled. Referred to CTN by the center, she was excited when notified that she had been accepted in a computer training program that would be provided without her having to leave home.
CTN employee Carlos Siriva was assigned to deliver the first five remote Home Connect sessions, meeting with her once a week using screen share software technology. Rosario described Carlos as a lovely person who was very patient and understanding, even when assigning her homework each week (which she admits enjoying).
When Carlos finished the first five classes, she was introduced to her digital coach, Cecilia Perez, and continues to meet with her every Monday to explore topics of interest to Rosario. Rosario notes, “Cecilia is very kind and pleasant, and very patient when she encourages me to try new things. I like to do things myself and figure things out. I never trusted myself that I wasn’t going to mess something up and lose my privacy. I feel much more secure now.” Rosario loves Zoom. She regularly attends art classes, sits in on guitar lessons even though she has never played the guitar before, and takes strength and exercise classes — all via Zoom.
Given that her mother’s prior computer experience was limited to turning on the computer, clicking on Yahoo, and reading her email, daughter Ingrid adds, “Mom’s progress has been remarkable! I have observed significant improvement as she is confident to explore more online, she has a good grasp of tech terminology, and navigates the internet confidently. She didn’t know how to search before, but now she is very familiar with Google. Thanks to everyone at CTN for making such a difference in her life.”
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