Jelica

In 2000, Jelica arrived in the United States as a refugee from Bosnia with six pieces of luggage, two daughters (Korana, 22 years and Arnela, 4 years), and $10 in her wallet. She had a dream to buy a home and lead a normal life with her family in their new country. In 2003, Jelica and her eldest daughter Korana joined the IDA Savings program with help from Catholic Charities of Santa Clara County with the goal of saving to buy a home. They took full advantage of the program’s classes and training resources to learn about money management and the process of buying a house. They saved diligently with the support of other savers in the program as well as Opportunity Fund staff. With their newly acquired financial knowledge and savings from the IDA program, the family purchased a condominium in Santa Clara. Having fulfilled one dream, Jelica plans to keep right on saving for the future, and Korana wish to go to college to study accounting.