In 2019, Asiyah moved to London, Ontario from Guyana. Asiyah had very limited English skills and came from a family that strongly valued education. When Asiyah moved to Canada, she began to search for a program that supports Deaf adults and came across Canadian Hearing Services (CHS). Jennifer, a CHS Settlement Services Counsellor, took Asiyah on a tour of the classroom, and Asiyah immediately fell in love with the space and atmosphere, enrolled in the Language Instruction for Newcomers to Canada (LINC) program, and has been a student there ever since.

“When she enrolled in the LINC program in London, she was interested to meet other Deaf and hard of hearing newcomers and learn about their different educational backgrounds. Asiyah became a role model for them, especially for Deaf females who moved from countries with little to no educational opportunities for women,” says CHS Settlement Services Counsellor, Jennifer.

At the time, Asiyah’s husband had his driver’s licence and was working night shifts, so coordinating their schedules for shopping needs was difficult. Asiyah wanted to be more independent, so she decided to take driving lessons. The first time she took the G1 test, she made mistakes, but she continued trying. Through the help of LINC and rigorous studying, Asiyah’s literacy, English skills and ASL significantly improved. In November of 2021, Asiyah took her G1 test again and succeeded at obtaining her G1 licence!

“I thank CHS, and the staff, Jennifer, Abigail, and Charles, for my achievement on that day. I will never forget about being the first woman from LINC who passed a driving exam in London,” says Asiyah.

LEARN MORE ABOUT CHS’ LANGUAGE INSTRUCTION FOR NEWCOMERS TO CANADA PROGRAM