Jo’s story

Jo took part in a Grit course at the University of Westminster University.

It had only been a month or two since Jo had arrived from Sri Lanka. Studying in London had been his dream but hadn’t bargained on how different it would be from home. English was difficult, it was so hard to speak with people, so hard to fit in. The clothes he wore, the food he ate, the music he heard, it was all so strange and unfamiliar.

He was living in the suburbs with a friend of a friend of friend. He felt isolated, everyday trekking into the university library to study and then coming home again, speaking to no-one.

It was lonely with only himself for company.

Jo lost all his confidence. Photography was a key part of the course and he knew he was good at taking pictures, but he was too scared to go out and take any.

Then he discovered Grit.

At the Grit workshop, Jo was never allowed to sit alone: there was always someone coming over to sit with him, to talk to him, to get him to take part. He felt included.

When he stood up and talked he felt appreciated, felt confident. He connected with other students struggling with the unfamiliar, of being an outsider. And he was able to talk about home and share stories about life in Sri Lanka.

Reading out his ‘Stand’ to the rest of the group was a ‘wow’ moment. There was a long round of applause, people shouting for him. He felt the tears in his eyes. ‘I wanted to meet some friends, instead, I found a family.’

The stand ‘Reminds me of all I learned in Grit whenever I read it. I keep it by my bed and read it every morning before getting up. Every day I try to be the person I am in my stand. It gives me the power to be a different person.’

He still regularly meets up with friends from the Grit course and now, Jo knows, there is always ‘someone there for me.’ He’s been volunteering at the local church café. Grit gave Jo the confidence to talk to people. ‘Now, when I see people I smile. I try and make contact. I reach out.’

The money from home was running out and Jo needed to find work so he could pay his tuition fees. He made dozens and dozens of applications without success. Everything seemed hopeless. And now, thanks to a friend of a friend of a friend, he’s got a part-time job and is making ends meet. It was Grit, says Jo, that gave him the resilience to keep on going when he felt like giving up.

The course is going great. Grit changed his way of thinking about himself. Jo now finds himself leading team presentations.  He is creating and directing videos and films. And he always makes time to go out and take lots of pictures

Says Jo, ‘I had the power in me all along. It just took Grit to bring it out.’

In fact, let Jo tell you himself: https://youtu.be/dUIDSojAZMs.