Fatu Weyee, a Liberian immigrant, came to America in 2008 with the hope of pursuing a better life as a healthcare professional. Upon arrival in Charlottesville, she trained to become a Certified Nurse Assistant (CNA), before entering nursing school while working full-time throughout. Along the way, she was blessed with two healthy, bright and energetic daughters, Ruthfina and Adriel, now four and two years old, but finding childcare that would allow her to reach her professional and personal goals proved to be a challenge.
As a nursing student, full-time CAN at Sentara Martha Jefferson Hospital, and mother to Ruthfina and Adriel, Fatu works incredibly hard. She loves healthcare, and even during the height of the Covid pandemic her love for nursing never wavered. Like so many families in the Charlottesville area, she struggled to find safe, affordable, quality early care for her children. Fatu knew how important it was for the girls to be in a safe environment where they could learn the skills needed to prepare them for success in school, while enabling her to continue working and attending class.
For months, Fatu searched for care, but with the annual average cost of childcare over $14,000 in our community, it was beyond her reach. Fatu began to lose hope and prepared to give up her dram of nursing–something she loved–and that was also a path to better financial stability for her family. She had nowhere to turn until a friend connected her with the Early Learner Scholarships program at United Way of Greater Charlottesville.
“When you are a young working mother and are struggling to find affordable childcare, people say you aren’t trying hard enough! But when I found out about United Way, they didn’t say that. They just saw I needed help and they did.”
Early Learner Scholarships are for childcare and preschool for children from low-income working families. These scholarships give children access to quality, stable early education environments to prepare them for success in school and life. The program reduces early barriers to quality education and supports families working toward financial stability by eliminating the cost of care and ensuring that children arrive at kindergarten prepared to succeed. For Fatu, the scholarships were a lifesaver–and a dream saver.
Now, after a full day of working with patients followed by a night of intense study for nursing exams, Fatu can see how well her daughters are doing and how happy they are. She is on her way to achieving her dream of becoming a nurse, and the family is on a path to financial stability that can endure through the generations.