Thembi Bheka left Zimbabwe with five dollars in her pocket, money she got from a stranger during her flight to Montreal, Canada. When she was five months pregnant, she learned she was one of three wives and decided that wasn’t the life for her. She moved to Canada as a political refugee, where she started a new life without her 10-month-old daughter. Even in a thin coat and freezing weather, she felt a hope in Canada she had never experienced in Zimbabwe. She also learned about lettuce when she ate salad for the first time.  

She shares that life in Zimbabwe was hard, but she was fortunate enough to be able to (mostly) make ends meet. However, leaving her marriage put her on a different path. She credits her rebellious spirit for enabling her to walk away from a destructive situation, regardless of what anyone else had to say. 

There were other factors motivating her to leave Zimbabwe, though. Youths in her neighborhood, who supported oppositional political parties, started disappearing from her neighborhood, and political unrest and a desire to go to Paris (she realizes she was a little bit naive) helped her make the decision to leave. She shares the need to invest in an education, which means more than going to school. Life experiences can be our best education.

The most comical moment of her journey was when, on her arrival in Canada, naivety led her to believe that she could work for 100 hours to buy 10 cars and ship them back to help her mother in Zimbabwe because she thought the advertised price of $199 at the auto dealerships was the final price of the car.

Thembi encourages other immigrants to embrace a purpose that keeps us focused, such as empowering our family or helping the poor back home. “We should have a bigger purpose in us than just making money. A bigger purpose will keep driving you.”

So, What’s your Nadvigating Story? Are you ready to share it with the World? I will like to tell it. Send an email to guest@nadcast.com, or click the VoiceNotes button to start.