I switched off my tape recorder and was glad for the darkness around us. I asked Leana how she felt when she realized what the man was doing. She said she cried as she watched him then moved away from the window so that he wouldn't see her. She knew that this moment of joy belonged to him but she never forgot it and can 'see' him running across that field even today.

The next morning, Leana was up and dressed before I had even begun to stir. Breakfast was on the table; I was due back at the trailer by 9:00 for another interview.

I was very much looking forward to talking with ASTRID SHANKHLA, another one of the trailer ladies. Amid is a gentle- natured, strong-spirited woman who speaks warmly of her students and of her role as an ABE instructor for Medicine Hat College.

Astrid came to Canada from Sri Lanka 20 years ago, settling first in Guelph, Ontario. She graduated from the University of Guelph with a teaching degree then taught Grade 13 social studies and home economics. She wasn't happy with the teaching atmosphere in public high schools, finding the inflexibility of the supervisors and curriculum and the behavioural problems of the students very difficult.

Not long after moving to Medicine Hat, Astrid attended an inter-agency meeting as a representative from the Unemployment Action Centre. "I was sitting beside Kathy Chang who was the coordinator of the ABLE Program at the time. She nudged me and said, 'Do you want to volunteer a bit to teach some reading, writing and math?' And I asked, 'To whom?' And Kachy said, 'To an adult student.' And I said 'OK, I'll give it a cry...' That was my beginning. Afcer chat, I became completely absorbed in this program."

Astrid thoroughly enjoys the work she is doing now because, "This is the first time that I felt that I could help somebody." It pleases her that, in most cases, the students come on their own to study. In her 6 years as a tutor and an ABE instructor, Astrid has seen many students do well. Some go on to higher education she told me and some reach a plateau. She has great confidence in her students and feels that "even if we have achieved a little bit we have achieved a lot. "

It was a quarter past the hour and I knew that Ascrid had a class at 10:30. She was talking about the hopes and goals she has for her students. I listened while I quietly gathered up my notes but I stopped and looked up when she said, "I really feel that every student is worth our best effort."

I was aware that Astrid wasn't only talking about herself. It was obvious that she gives each of her students her best effort. But she said, "our best effort." We talked about teamwork and the way all the women who work in the programs run out of the trailer work together to provide students with the best possible support in any way they are able. I realized then that this is the common ground the trailer ladies share. They simply believe chat all of the students they work with are worth their best effort.

When I came out of Astrid's office, I found JEAN DIRK waiting for me. Jean was the coordinator of the Oyen ABLE Program a number of years ago and has recently been serving as the Resource Person for the LCA in the south-east area of the province. We sat down in the coffee area of the trailer and were joined shortly by RITA KOWDY. Rira was the administrative assistant for the LCA (following Leana) and is now an instructor at the College for ESL students who are participating in a job placement program.