The following interview is in celebration of Martha Moreira being named HISD Employee of the Month for December.
Q: In your interview on the HISD website, you said that your son César and the principal at the time actually motivated you to accept the job as library assistant. How did they do so?
A: Well, at that time I was working in the cafeteria, and the principal at the time asked me ‘Mrs. Moreira, would you like to work in another department.’ I wasn’t so sure if I should take the job, but my son told me to take it. I still had doubts and didn’t want to feel bad if I couldn’t do the job, but he said that he was going to help me since he was going to come to Bellaire for his first year. And from then to now, it’s been years.
Q: What made you doubt that you could take on this job?
A: Well, I was not sure if I was going to do a good job in the library, and I afraid of not doing well, because I like to make everything perfect.
Q: Is it hard to keep track of all the work that needs to be done?
A: Not really. We have a lot of people coming in and helping us: office workers and moms. I think we control everything really well with all the outside help.
Q: How do you promote literacy in Bellaire?
A: We always tell kids that reading is important to increase knowledge and become more knowledgeable. We have so many books in this library, from science to religion to biographies. You know what they say, ‘if you read you will open your mind.’
Q: I heard that you actually fled from El Salvador because of a civil war at that time. Could you tell us more about what was going on?
A: At that time, it was a really dangerous place to be, especially if you were a teenager. The army or guerilla could take you, and force you to fight. You don’t have a choice.
Q: Even girls?
A: Oh yes, especially girls. They would make girls work in both armies. They just grab you and take you away. It was really scary. The rebellions came shooting one night when I had my little child and the army was occupying that place. The guerilla possessed my house. I think they are called the Sandinistas in English. They are supposed to fight for people’s rights. They wanted to take over the government, have their own rules, eliminate the rich people and give everything to the poor. They used to brainwash people.
Q: Who are your favorite authors?
A: I like Isabel Allende. We have a book here called, The Daughter of Fortune. I like the way she writes, and another one I like is Gabriel García Márquez. I think I tend to like Hispanic authors, because Spanish is my native language.
Q: I heard that you help your son teach ESL classes. In your opinion, why are ESL classes so important?
A: I think ESL classes for parents allows them to be more involved with their kid’s school, and I think it’s very important. If they learn English, they can motivate their kids more. We even taught them how to open Gradespeed, and they didn’t even know that they could check their kids’ absence and grades. I actually didn’t know English when I came to America, and I ended up learning through night-time classes. I needed to learn English to get a job. I had to send money to my younger siblings in El Salvador.
Q: Do you have any dreams and goals that you really want to accomplish?
A: I wish one day that I can have my own business so I can help kids. There are a lot of parents who aren’t in the house and leave kids by themselves. I want to have a place for kids who don’t have parents at home after school. I want my kids to be successful. Two are done with college, and the other two are still in college.
