I've been in Detroit since 1976. From Haiti originally. When I moved to Detroit, I thought that was the best place in the world. Everything was so sweet, so quiet. People were gentle. Detroit was booming. My job, what I've been doing for 30-something years, is detailing vehicles. And it's heavy on the body. Bears down on my muscle in my shoulder and everything else because of my age, so I say, "I think it's time to try to do something else." That's when we first get involved with the Personal Storehouse Project. I went to my bishop and explained to him that I want to get to Focus: HOPE and help me do that.

The folks at Focus: HOPE came out of the '67 riots. And they developed some training programs. They connected with the car companies and, in doing that, gave people some opportunities. But that's morphed over the course of time. And now they're training people, instead of in engineering and mechanical engineering skills, now they're training them in computer-aided design. I was so blessed to be among some good young people in that class. They didn't look at me as the old man in the class. They look at me as one of their peers, one of their classmates. I finish the program at Focus: HOPE and take a test, and now I'm a certified CCNA right now. So grateful for that program. You can do it at any age, but you have to be committed to it. Stick to it.

Education could transform Detroit to where we want Detroit to be right now, because we do have so many individuals that need education. And this is why there are so many unemployed people in the city--because they cannot have a job because they don't have education.

I start doing laptops because of the need. I look and see the need in the city of Detroit with students, high school students, college students who cannot afford to have a new laptop to do their homework. And so I've tried to find a way to help them. And so I go and ask the members of the Church, to say that "if you have any old laptop that you're not using, please let me have it. I want to help the students in the city of Detroit." And so that's how I get into it. And so I get them and refurbish them, update them, and install Windows and software, whatever software they need. I was starting college, and I didn't have a computer. I didn't know how I was going to pay for books. I was freaking out. I had a full-ride scholarship, but books weren't a part of it and I didn't have a computer. And Brother Louis told me about another member of the Church who had a laptop that they were going to give me. It was overwhelming. I think I cried. And I just went home, and I just stared at it. "I really have a laptop! I have a laptop now!" Tiara Harvey is one of the examples of a student that I give a laptop to. Some four years ago, she took it to college with her. And now she's graduated from Detroit Mercy University. She can afford a new laptop right now because she's working, and she passed it on to her brother. And it's still working good. Education is a must-have in life, especially growing up in Detroit. You're faced with so many obstacles just growing up in Detroit. I feel like without an education, you're lost. You're the stray dog in the streets without an education. I'm the first one in my family to actually go to college and graduate. So that's really just an overwhelming experience. There are 12 grandkids, and I'm the youngest out of the 12. 8 or 9 out of the 12 finished high school, but nobody pursued anything further than that. That was a big accomplishment within itself, just finishing high school. When Brother Louis gave me the laptop, it was one of the greatest things. It's a simple thing, but it's the little things that really make a big difference. The storehouse project will really help and educate people, to help them to be self-reliant. And that could play a big part on helping bring Detroit back. One of the best things you can do is give back. Out of my group of friends, I was the only one who went to college. And I have nieces and nephews who I just know look up to me, and I just strive for them. I try to path the way that maybe one day they can take. I know what my husband is doing with other businesses and the Church members who have business and gave us computers. And when we pick them up, and you can see the face of the light--in the face of one person when you hand them the computers. And how grateful they are they can do--they're not members. Not all of them are members of the Church; that's the best part of it. And they knew who to call to ask for help, and they knew he would be there. I do not want to take credit for it because I don't think it's something that I come up with because I was such a good person. But I know it was because I'm a member of the Church. And that's one way that I can serve my Heavenly Father, by helping His children. And I don't think I can take much credit. I think it's inspiration from my Heavenly Father. [MUSIC PLAYING]