Can a GED open doors?
So how important is a GED these days? Well, it depends on who you ask. For Viola Johnson, it means she no longer has to lie on job applications when asked if she has her diploma. A GED will give Isha Kamara – who came to this country from Guinea in 2007 – opportunities that she never thought existed. She spent seven years in a refugee camp and lost her parents to rebel forces. With about 160,000 Milwaukee residents labeled as functionally illiterate, programs such as Milwaukee Achievers are closing the adult achievement gap. But with funding drying up, programs like these need volunteers to help meet a growing demand. Johnson and Kamara are two women with two different stories. But both realize that a GED can open doors previously locked. Locked? Let’s face it: slammed in their faces. Both women were honored along with 58 adults during the Milwaukee Achievers’ sixth annual achievement awards ceremony. The group, the largest yet, donned maroon caps and gowns as family members and childr
