I am Joan Melvin. When I was 29 years old, I decided to come to the United States. My sister Silvia and my friend Eliezar helped me to pay for my trip to come here. My friend Eliezar is from Guatemala and he was my classmate in the institute “INTECAP” and my co-worker, too. I came to live in Guatemala City after the civil war in my country El Salvador in 1989. When I was 19 years old, my parents took the decision to send me to Guatemala because I had my cousin Adita living

In 1958, I was born in Gongzhong which is in the south of China. In 2012, I came by myself to Hayward. In 2001, my parents moved to Oakland. My brothers and sisters live in Fremont. I bought a house in Hayward because I like Hayward. I like going to school to learn English. I ride a bicycle to attend my ESL classes at the Hayward Adult School and for the Conversation Class at the Hayward Library. I have a job taking care of a baby boy. I like my job. He is a nice boy.

Learning to read is critical to a child’s success in school and in life. Yet approximately 80 percent of pre-schools and afterschool programs serving kids in need do not have a single book for the children they serve. Turn your dollars into books for kids in need! The dd’s DISCOUNTS store located at 24055 Hesperian Blvd, Hayward, CA 94545 is collecting donations between 8/5 and 8/27 so kids at Hayward Literacy Plus Program can get new books from First Book for back-to-school.