From Fear to Safety: Fernando Defines Success and Opportunity
When Fernando speaks about success, he doesn’t talk about titles, status, or wealth. He talks about being alive. About having a home. About being safe. For him, success is a family that can walk down the street without fear. A place to sleep that isn’t shadowed by threats. A chance to build something new, even if it starts from nothing.
Fernando fled El Salvador, a country gripped by gang violence. The gangs ruled neighbourhoods with impunity, where extortion, forced recruitment, and death threats were common. “Looking back in time,” he recalls now, “there have been some ups and downs. I still remember that part where we looked at darkness and fear—we were threatened.” Success seemed hard to imagine. Leaving El Salvador wasn’t about seeking a better life. It was about safety and survival.
His family first made their way to Guatemala. Fernando had an aunt and uncle who lived in Canada. They approached the Diocesan of Hamilton, Office for Refugees asking for assistance. Together with their local parish, St. John the Baptist, Kitchener and relatives who put together a sponsoring group. Applications were submitted to the Federal Government and were followed up with interviews. It was a long process full of hope and patience.
Then came the day they had all been waiting for. The family had been accepted to come to Canada!
When Fernando arrived in December 2017 in Canada with his wife and daughter, the relief of safety came with the weight of starting over. In the early days, the challenges were immediate: finding affordable housing, learning English, and finding a job.
An opportunity arose that would solve the affordable housing problem: to become a live-in superintendent. This position offered an apartment and covered utilities. “We said, of course, this is convenient,” he recalls. It was a practical decision. Fernando’s background was in accounting. He started this new position with no experience, no training with tools or repairs, and was still struggling with English. But Fernando adapted. What he didn’t know, he learned. What he couldn’t do yet, he figured out. English was hard, the work was unfamiliar, but the willingness was there.
Fernando never imagined that this “convenient” decision to become a superintendent would be the beginning of a new career path. Slowly, things changed. He took courses in management and property operations at Conestoga College and the University of Toronto, as well as from the Institute for In-House Management. He is now a certified property manager. Today, he holds a regional manager position overseeing many buildings and sites. It’s a career he never expected, and one he carved out for himself through perseverance, humility, and a willingness to learn from the ground up.
Along with achieving a successful career, Fernando and his wife have also welcomed two more children since their arrival to Canada.
Fernando’s story is not just about survival. It’s about the ingenuity required to spot opportunity in unexpected places. It’s about the quiet determination to rebuild from zero. And it’s a reminder that no one flees their country lightly.
To be respected, to be in a safe place, and to have a growing family, that’s what he calls success.