September 26, 2024 • 57 mins
Akwetta Beatrice Achaleke is a trailblazing serial social transfopreneur, global executive trainer, and transformational public speaker with over 30 years of international experience. After making history in Europe, she returned to Africa to empower individuals and organizations with her GloBUNTU Transformation Mindset System. Discover her incredible journey.
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Welcome to the show! Today, we have an extraordinary guest, Akwetta Beatrice Achaleke—a trailblazing serial social transfopreneur and a transformational public speaker with a passion for making a global impact. Beatrice is not just an accomplished author and publisher, but she’s also the force behind GloBUNTU Books® and the “Africa for Smart Kids®” series.
With over 30 years of international experience, Beatrice’s journey is nothing short of inspiring. From 1995 to 2015, she lived in Europe, working across the globe and breaking barriers. She made history as the first Black woman to stand for parliamentary elections in Austria and was elected as the first president of the Black European Women’s Council, where she worked closely with the European Commission and Parliament.
In 2019, Beatrice founded Diversity Leadership and Consulting, and for the past decade, she has also been a lecturer at a European university. Her influence has reached international forums from New York to Nairobi, earning her over a dozen awards, including official recognition from the Federal Republic of Austria.
Beatrice’s GloBUNTU Transformation Mindset System is helping people and organizations worldwide to unlock their true potential. A proud mother of two incredible teenagers, Beatrice is also dedicated to nurturing the next generation through her “Africa for Smart Kids Program.”
Get ready to be inspired by her wisdom, passion, and commitment to making a difference in the world.
Get Ankwetta's Books > On Amazon
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Platform - www.joadre.com
*I deeply apologize for the sound glitches; we recorded this episode via video call. Thank you for listening/watching. Please remember to subscribe and follow, and as we grow this brand-new podcast, I promise to raise the bar with more intriguing guests and bold conversations.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
the problem is that you outgrow the system
it's time to forge a bold future
and my guest today is Ankweta Beatrice Achaleke
known for her book series
Africa for Smart Kids
over 30 years of international experience
first black woman to stand for parliamentary elections
in Austria I was very mission during the
(00:21):
when I left Austria I gave away everything
my house I left with two suitcases
after 20 years in Europe breaking barriers
she made a radical decision
it is time for Africa I was pushed into becoming
Beatrice's Globuntu transformation mindset system
is helping people and organisations worldwide
(00:41):
to unlock their true potential
you packed your bags after you
you you've been on stage
you've you've spoke
you supported so many people
you've done so much good work here
I mean everybody looking from the outside will be like
what the what
what does she want what's she looking for
and some people will be like ugh
(01:01):
she's going to Africa huh
but you went unapologetically
you went what made you
what made you come to that decision
because I I guess it's not overnight
so how did you realize one day thinking
I need something else
and what made you make that decision
so thank you so much for having me on your podcast
(01:23):
I am absolutely delighted to be here
and to be having this conversation with
none other than you Joadre
none other than you
because you have been very pivoter on
my journey as well um
I don't know
if you even realized how much you supported me
but will probably come to that
and sometimes that decision becomes easier
(01:45):
that very hard decision
when you realize that some sisters stand behind you
that they got your shoulder
that they got your back and that you are
you can always go to them and they understand
they don't judge you and you were one of them
but before it came to that yes
many people thought like
she was very successful in Austria
she has been to places that no one has been before
(02:07):
no black woman
she has stood for parliamentary elections
she has created organisations
she's run this big conferences
she can speak to anyone
and then all of a sudden I call it shit happens
I like to be very very unapologetic about that
because quite often
when we are busy doing the things that we do
we are very mission driven
(02:29):
I was very mission driven
I was not out to do business to earn money
but I was trying to create a future where my children
and my children children
and the children that look like my children
will not have to constantly
justify their presence in Austria
so I I was out to prepare the society for my children
(02:52):
and my great grandchildren
and children they looked at like them
so uh
it got to the point where
even though I was always busy being busy
and my daughter always had a way of reminding me
you're always very busy but
never have enough money
and when my bank manager tells me Mrs
Achelek
I see you everywhere but not on your bank account
ha ha ha ha ha ha and when those messages that coming
(03:16):
you know that you're in for trouble if you don't react
mmm I did not pay attention to that
I did not react so
I got to the point where I wasn't able to pay my rent
for two months in a house that I paid a down uh
mortgage for 45,000 euros
yeah
and because of months not being able to pick the rent
(03:37):
the landlord came after me with a lawyer
and they wanted to evict me
and they stood at my door at 5 o'clock in the morning
even long after I had paid the rent
and so much happened I said like shit happened yes
yes and so uh
when I tried to explain it to some people around me
I called some of the ministers
and some of the big shots that were around me
I said hey
trouble is knocking at my door
(03:59):
is there any way you can assist
and I heard some people say
that's all your fault
because you're asking for too much
you've you've achieved so much in Austria
and yet you keep asking
you keep criticizing the system and I was like okay
I hear you and when then um
when people start saying such things
your I realized that I had outgrown my environment
(04:21):
because I knew I was just 46
and I thought about my grandmother who
who could neither read nor write
who did so much in her village
and I thought like
and some people said go for social welfare
and I was like at 46 going for social welfare
when life is only just beginning
I mean what example am I setting for my children
(04:44):
and what would my grandmother say
so I told myself um
the the the problem is that you outgrow the system
you came here to study anyway
so you extended your stay
now you are grow the system
you have two choices
either stay stagnate and wallow and be bitter
end up a Seneca black woman in Europe
(05:04):
or pack your two suitcases and go back home and
where you can still grow yeah
so um
I did some soul searching conversations with me
I I needed someone whose shit was bigger than mine
you will excuse my language
but when it happens you have to yeah
say it I mean
your audience your audience will excuse the language
but we don't means what what
(05:24):
you know when things like that happen
so um
I knew that I needed someone whose
shit was bigger than mine
and so I found Nelson Mandela
who was sentenced to then
who never knew that he was ever going to come out
from prison
and so I went into an unspoken conversation with him
trying to understand him
and trying to get my understanding of his situation
(05:46):
to talk me out of myself pity party
um and then I realize I still had friends
Mandela did not have I have a smartphone
a cell phone Mandela did not have
I'm still online he was not online anywhere
I still have social media
when I realise I have so much
I still have my house I still have my kids
(06:06):
and so I had to sit down
and have serious conversation with my children
I said listen
if something is going to happen
I'm going to make a very radical decision
and because we have had an open conversation all along
they understood
uh even though if you understand if
if I tell you what my my big boss told me and what my
my my part time lawyer
my son is my part time lawyer
(06:28):
how old were they how
how old were they at that
at that time he was 12 and he was 13
going to fourteen
okay and mind you
he has just been diagnosed with diabetes
and I had no clue about diabetes
and just around that time
my kid brother
one of my kid brothers passed on in the US
(06:48):
and I wasn't able to go home
what I did is I sat on the phone and made phone calls
and I knew that when I'd stop
making the phone calls
I was not going to be able to pick the Bill
and the phone line was going to be off
I knew but I had no choice
so you
there come a time when you're in a situation like that
you just know there's just no way out
and when I looking back today
(07:09):
I tell myself my ancestors was telling me
you have over extended your stay
yeah and because you're not realising it
we need to let everything crumble around you
so that you have no choice
did you not see it coming
was there no moment like years before where you felt it
or was it just really this
big thing that had to crumble down to wake you up
(07:32):
uh I saw it coming but not in the intensity
so what really brought me down to my knees
was the fact that I was running this high profile
diversity conferences
and so uh
I had a main sponsor and that main sponsor the
the last conference that broke my leg was 2013 um
two months before the conference
(07:53):
she cancelled the €45,000 sponsorship and I was like
I am definitely not gonna let you go with this
I will not cancel the conference because of you
cause what it may
so I went ahead and did the conference and of course
all the other jobs that I had to do
I had to use it to pay for the girls
for the conference
(08:14):
and that is where the big trouble came from
I don't regret that decision
I don't
I went out of there with my head high and I think um
my ancestors are proud of me yes
Just to round that chapter up you know
sometimes we um
sometimes we outgrow our environment and um
we don't even realise it and we have all our hands full
(08:38):
but it's not giving us what we have in our hands
it's not giving us what we need
yeah because yeah
we've outgrown the space and so when we don't quit
when we don't give ourselves
the permission to make some of those radical decisions
we will stagnate
and we would missed our next masterpiece
hmm
and I do not want to miss out on my next masterpiece
(08:58):
yes yes
thank you so much because it's
this conversation is actually far away
not about regret though
the importance of this conversation is you're not alone
you're a future forger
you are someone that has taken that bold
said there's so many people
it might not be um
going back to the African continent
(09:20):
it might not be something in direction of uh moving
relocating or something
it might be something else in their life
it might be their job
that they have defined their whole existence about
you know I'm an engineer
everybody knows my family is proud and
and I can sustain my family
(09:40):
but that's not me but I want something more
but that fear you know
something needs to happen
you know so
this conversation is really for people that know
they feel
they sense that there is something else out there
that I want to do but I'm too scared to do it
do I need the wall to crumble down on me first
(10:01):
and if it does crumble down on me
am I gonna pick up myself or am I gonna
like pity myself so
that's why just listen to your story
we basically don't have excuses anymore
no and let me tell you
let me tell you
some people make their children their excuses
(10:21):
you say oh
I think you did it because
I see you are very brave sister
I don't know but I don't think that you will ever make
you could in a short while
but I don't think you will stick in there
because some people do it for the rest of their lives
yes and what I said is that
when you put the guilt on your children
for not having pursued your dreams
(10:43):
hmm what a load of vicious circle
oh it's a big load on the children
you know when you keep saying
I would have done that but
but in if not of the children
I would have done this yes
not the fact that I was married
whether that is staying in an unhappy marriage
yes it is staying in an unhappy neighborhood
an apartment that is no longer serving you a job that
you know that is breaking your neck
(11:03):
you know yes
you wake up and you're like
oh my God
do I have to go back there
mmm so when you use the children
you put a curse on them mmm
put a curse on them and you put a burden on them
and they will repeat the same thing in their own lives
and then
we would have created a vicious circle of depression
a vicious circle of unsatisfied people
(11:24):
a vicious circle of nagging human beings
especially women right
so when
when I pushed when I
my children and I pushed
when I listened to my daughter tell me uh
you living and going
gave us the permission to do our thing
to be us
and when I took the position
I said that I had three questions in my mind
(11:46):
because shortly what
when before I left
someone promised me a job in South Africa
and I did everything cancelled out a contract
two months before I left he said
I changed my mind
and all my friends said you're going nowhere
you not going to go and I said like mmm
sometimes
we give people too much importance in our lives power
(12:07):
if I don‘t go I give him
if I don't go I give this South African guy
too much powers over my life
I will spend my life saying
had he given me the job I would be in Johannesburg
another excuse so I asked myself the question
if my children ever get into a situation like this
in future
what would I want them to say mom would have done
(12:27):
like what would mom have done
and I said
what importance do I have to give this person
in my life Austria
if I stayed in Austria I would have
you know like Austria is all racist
you know the conversation we have yeah
you know play the
the the pity card and indulge in self victimization
so I said like
is this the conversation that I want to have
for the rest of my life no
(12:49):
definitely not and I thought like staying here
what does it mean for you
you have to go to the social work
to the work social welfare
you have to do this is that what you want
is that really what you want right now
no then get your head get the hell out of here
and sometimes
and sometimes it could even be the flip reason
(13:10):
in the sense that
you might actually be too comfortable
you might be in your so comfortable zone
everything is really working
like how the world expected to work
but in there you know that you can do more
you have that urge the urgency to do more
(13:32):
you have the capability to do more like comfort zone
you might have a good job
you might have a good home
you might have good friends
and everything working for you
but you know there is more work to be done
you know you want to make a difference
you know
you want to create your story in a different way
you know
then sometimes it's then so difficult to let that go
(13:55):
so
thinking about what you said
and you now decided to go
not to came um
Cameroon because you were born in Cameroon
so why did you just like divert and go South Africa
three reasons reason number one
I didn't have money to go back to Cameroon
(14:16):
when you've been abroad for 20 years
and you're going home
you're expected to bring a lot of money
have a car have a house
and I didn't have any one of those
and I did not want to go
become a liability on my family
and I did not want to bring shame upon them
because you'll be a disgrace for them and such
justifying your presence
that's right so that was No. 1
(14:38):
you may be surprised about the second reason though
um I thought like
if I am going to Africa
I want to take my kids to the place
where they can see someone
who looks like their dad
someone who looks like their mom in public life
oh
and South Africa is that country that has that mixture
because originally I was gonna take my kids with me
(14:59):
it just happened in the last minute that I could not
and then I had to leave them behind
we have all agreed that we will leave um
and so
that was the second reason I wanted them to be able
you know in Austria
they used to seeing black people in posters uh
in all kinds of with all kinds of negativity
you know yeah
yeah hunger
poverty and all of that and um
I had been to South Africa
(15:21):
and I can see people in public life
black and white you know
I I thought like
this is the place where I want my kids to be
to grow up in
and the third one which is not the least one though
was because I had start working on my concept
that I called Globuntu mindshift
and
because I had that unspoken conversation with Mandela
in my book you see
I was telling Mandela I'm coming to your city
(15:42):
I want to put my tiny feet in your tiny
in your big feet teach me
learn me uh
no guide me to what I want to be able to um
to transform my what it looks like
my breakdown now into my absolute breakthrough
just like you did coming out of prison
so I needed to go to South Africa
to learn more about Ubuntu
and to learn more about Mandela
(16:04):
and I'm glad that I did and and
and when you when you landed South Africa
you know that plane just touched the ground
how did you feel
uh it was a very mixture of feelings because I
had just left my kids behind uh
and when you land you think like okay
it is definite
this plane is like when you're up in the air is like
(16:26):
okay I'm not yet at destination
something could stick up
and I could still turn back and go to them
you know even though deep within your heart
you know you're not going back
but when it touches down and you like
I'm out you see Johannesburg
welcome to South Africa I'm like okay
goodbye Austria but where are my kids
so that was where my first confusion
the first two days I was like completely disorientated
(16:47):
was it like a guilt did you
did you feel a kind of no
it was not guilt it was not guilt
it was just a realization that were now separated
and I needed those two days to reorientate to say
you not gonna put yourself in a self pity again
and I was trying to figure out
what kind of conversation
(17:08):
am I going to have with the children
that doesn't lead them to the space
where they keep saying they miss me and I keep saying I miss you
and when you say you miss someone it
it doesn't really mean that um
it's in some cases it doesn't hurt
especially when you're at such a long distance
with children and mom and children
I didn't want to have that conversation
(17:30):
so when I came out of those two days
my kids and I would have another conversation
I think it was our second conversation since I landed
and we agree that we love each other passionately
we are committed to each other
but we are not atached to each other
we don't want to do attachment
because with attachment comes pain
(17:51):
it comes disappointment
comes jealousy comes all kinds of things
but if you're able to love without being attached
and I thought myself
is something happened in South Africa
and I passed on
I want my children to be able to stand on their feet
so in order to do that
I don't have to go tell them I miss you
I rather tell them I'm proud of you
I'm so happy for you I see how you're doing
(18:14):
I love what you who you're becoming
so that conversation
so that it gives them some grounding
and gives them some level of self confidence
and gives them our ownership
over the decisions that they will make in their lives
wow do you know how I knew listen
just I knew that being in Johannesburg far away
meant that I couldn't be the mother
(18:36):
that I would have wanted to be
so how
to shift my mind
to becoming the mother that I could be
to them from a distance
which means sometimes just being as a a listener
not being your mother sometimes just being guiding them
sometimes just letting them teach you
life from their perspective
so I needed those two days to shift my mind
(18:58):
to understand what kind of mother I am going to be
from a distance yes
yes yes
wow you can be that fixxing mother from from
from a distance you can't
so I had to learn how to trust that my children
and my kids dad
would make different decisions that I would have made
but that this decisions are good for them
and that whatever happens
(19:20):
everything will be fine yes
so those were the things that I needed to figure out
within those two days that I was kind of confused
wow so
hmm I
I am just like I need to digest this
because this is so emotional on different levels
and empowering because one
(19:41):
somehow we've um
especially women we
we have somehow observed a rule of what mothering means
right and that's so much in our minds
that if we deviate a beat
maybe even to the best to the advantage of our family
(20:02):
our children ourselves
our ecosystem
but it does not fit what we have put in our minds
that we should be doing then it's a drama
so you
explaining
this really opens up possibilities for so many women
that mothering is not about control
it's about trust it's about so many other things
(20:23):
it's about letting go and trusting right
and then
I will accept that things will not always be done
the way you want them done
but trusting that
the fact that they're not done the way
you want them done doesn't mean that they're done wrong
yes yes
yes does that does
was that somehow an inspiration for you
(20:44):
to start writing books for children
and working with children
as an order to make them tell their stories
did that somehow connect
not yet not yet
uh the reason why I started writing books
there were two reasons why
I was in Austria when I was 36
I had my daughter and I took her to Kinder
who were living in brightonford
(21:05):
and this little brat of a kindergarten child
three years came up to me and said
oh how nice that you brown people came into Austria
because if you did not come to our country
you'll be starving in Africa
and you'll be living with trees on the
with monkeys on trees right
in our in Brightenfurt
in our village there is a Billa and a Zielpunkt
so you can buy food and eat and not starve
(21:27):
and she looked me straight in the eye and I was like
completely like where is this coming from
where does she get the courage
yes courage
my surprise she said to me like oh
does Africa contribute anything to the world
what does it tell me
I I
I just was speechless I could not
and that I carried that with me
(21:47):
and that you will know in Austria
people ask you all kinds of stupid questions
yes and they were asking my children
so when my at
I was I told my kid when they were young that one day I
no my daughter started saying
you must write books about Africa
so
that I don't have to answer all the stupid questions
all the time make a dictionary haha when
when she came to visit me in South Africa in 2016
(22:09):
that was the first visit yeah
her friends called her on WhatsApp
and they're asking her do you have water to drink
do you have electricity do you have internet
should we send you food and she was like stupid foolish
you're talking to me on the
on WhatsApp and this is internet
and then she turned around to me and said mom
this is time you have no excuses
(22:30):
you're back in Africa write books for kids
write books about Africa that was where I got my
my contract from in German you say Auftrag
she writing books yes
yes and I
but sometimes I also think that this um
direct or indirect of passive confrontation racist
(22:54):
um ignorant confrontations
um about the African continent
about brown people people of colour
sometimes I think
it pushes us
to be on a mode of justifying our presence
so
you're consistently trying to justify why you're there
(23:15):
why you're brown yes
there's water yes
there's light and everything
and it came to a point for me where I thought like
seriously
why should I be teaching you your ignorance
no no
no I'm investing too
much of my energy in that
instead of actually following my purpose
so I understand
(23:35):
and I appreciate when a younger generation is doing it
but I believe personally
that when you get to certain age
after doing it for a while
let the younger generation do it
and focus on your purpose
because then they win because then
you use all your resources and energy to counter them
instead of actually developing yourself
(23:58):
and who goes away with trauma
you're right but I
I I think
I did not finish my thought with that little brat
yeah so
when I moved to Africa I was like
you could not answer that little brat
so find your answers who are you as an African woman
what does Africa contribute to the world
(24:20):
mmm now you're here and your daughter is telling you
write books so
I wrote books first to find answers
for me it was me in search of my identity
it was me in search of my African greatness
it was me in search of my
my vast heritage that I did not know
I grew up in a colonial system of education
(24:40):
and then
we all go to Europe in search of greener pastures
yes and the unspoken
the subconscious in our subconscious mind
we're saying that what we have is not good enough
good enough is what is abroad
in the country
of the person that colonised and enslaved my ancestors
so I needed to change
the paradigm and go for my Africanness
(25:00):
so what does it take to be an African woman
before I left Austria I used to say
I'm an Austrian from Cameroon
and are you to fight hard
when people tell me when are you going back home
I'm like are you kidding me
home is here and I'm going to die here
I will find my place in the central
and the central graveyard
but after I started writing the books
(25:22):
I found myself in a way that wherever I go
I tell people I'm a very very
very very proud African woman
I don't justify now
I'm just being because I know that I come from this
and my thing writing the books also
is to pass on what I learnt too late
pass it earlier on to the next generation
(25:44):
so that they don't have to go through all that
justification so that they don't have to go order
lack of self confidence or the lack of self worth
you know they don't have to over
they don't have to wait until they are my age
yes so they do that
yes oh my God
this is good this is good stuff for people to
(26:04):
to listen to because um
there are so many young people
that are trying to find their identity
and I re I remember like you just said
um I was also schooled in a British school
and the secondary school I went to
I remember that you couldn't even speak uh
pigeon English
not to talk about speaking your own language
(26:26):
it was so bad that my parents
because they wanted us to be very good in school
never spoke like encouraged us to learn our language
it was from my grandmother when I was 16 17
I started learning a EDO my language
and at that time when I was young with
with the friends in this British elite school
(26:46):
and everything it was a kind of pride like
oh no no
you speak the British language and
and that's how you should talk
you don't speak your
you don't even have another language
you know
and I remember carrying that identity for a long time
right and uh
when I came to Europe um
(27:08):
so my family they broke up and everything
so reality struck too
so there was nothing elite and rich anymore to enjoy
but when I came to Europe
I now started thinking like
oh wow
we're not even really like celebrated accepted here
so what's this whole fuzz about right
how did we come up with this whole curriculum and idea
(27:31):
in in Nigeria actually
that the kids must be you know
taught like this literally
we learnt Shakespeare Macbeth
we never really learnt anything from
from the continent
literatures from the continent and everything
and that was for me like in my early 20s
realising that in Europe
I felt like it's so late because the identity
(27:53):
of a person really got
starts getting formed when they are 3 years old
5 years old 10 years old
so I really appreciate books for young people
especially in comic forms encouraging them to write
so thank you so much for going on that journey
and making those books
and opening it up for young people
(28:14):
to actually start tapping
to identity I am so curious about the Ubuntu philosophy
I've been following you listen to it and I'm like
I want to know more about it what is Ubuntu
um Ubuntu
before we go to Ubuntu
I just wanted to touch on something that you mentioned
about young people and the identity
(28:35):
I'm so proud of my daughter
she knows Africa more than I do now
we just counted that
she's traveled many more African countries that I have
and she stood up on her bucket list this year
to travel many more
and what made me even prouder is today
she sat down and she was saying mom
I want to organise my retreat at and invite uh
she calls them uh uh
(28:56):
children of African descent
who coming to Africa for the first time
take your first identity finding trip
she has coined out some words there
and she's saying she wants to bring them here
so that they got to learn about their identity
so they don't have to struggle
because they struggle a whole lot
you are like they call you black African
you've never been to Africa
and she is already at her because she's seen her
(29:19):
what that you know
how that makes her grounded
knowing her African identity
uh she keeps learning all the time about that
and just
the fact that she doesn't learn just for herself
she sees a daughter go now she wants to involve
her best friend is coming here very soon
and then not only is she happy about that
she wants to engage other young people
and bring them here
(29:40):
so they can learn about the identity
and that makes me think our children are watching us
hmm it's not very much about what we say to them
but what yes
you do yeah
that counts they watch you
and so we got better be careful about what we're doing
not what we say hmm
she think me pack my things and go
(30:00):
and she's seeing me struggling to thrive sometimes
she sends me money I mean
by the little girl that I left behind at 11 and
and she she doesn't say mom
you should come back to Europe
that has never come out of my mouth
instead she says
I'll come join you yes
and so it speaks a whole lot
our children watch us and so
as black women as as
(30:21):
as as mothers
we got to really really
really make sure that we match what we're saying
with what we're doing but most of all
make sure that what we're doing
is something that will empower our children
because that's what they're looking
especially if when we have girls
girls watch what we do
I'm very sure that we can tap into the Ubuntu
(30:44):
philosophy here too
yes so Ubuntu
let's go to it um
and uh
Wontu is an African philosophy
uh it's at home in South Africa
but in mostly all African countries
just under different names
and it is
one of the most democratic concept in the whole world
one of the most mindful concept in the whole world
(31:06):
and it's actually very spiritual
in just one short sentence
that even a kindergarten kid will understand
I am who I am because of you or because of us
that simply means of as beings
we are interconnected
our destinies are intricately interconnected
(31:28):
with one another and everything that we do
affects the whole ecosystem that we live in
whether we know it or not
so if we know that we are intricately interconnected
and that um
what we do affect each other
we become mindful of the things that we knew we do
because even if we don't see the effect
(31:50):
it affects if and then that interconnectedness look
we are speaking to the true devices and internet yeah
you may never meet the people who created this device
yeah but using these devices connect us with them
and when we use them with respect
we are respecting those people
and so it is a concept that really grounds you
(32:12):
and makes you understand that
the kind of relationship that you build with others
determine and shape who you become in future
and who you become is part of an ecosystem
you may say it doesn't affect me today
but it will affect your great
great great grandchildren somewhere
because they're in the ecosystem
(32:32):
and a very good example is the pandemic
uh the pandemic
the study started in China
it didn't take long and we all were in it
yeah it didn't know rich
it didn't know Africa or non Africa
so uh
that was our interconnectedness being
you know projected in front of us right there
what we call Ubuntu
Ubuntu has principles that you follow in order to um
(32:55):
to be able to live a life of interconnectedness
to be able to tap into the power of your community
because as Africans we are community people
we are people's people yes
um when you see Africans in Europe
they suffer most when they can't say hello to people
people don't greet that becomes a big issue for them
(33:16):
they have community around
individualism is European
and that collectivity that connectedness
that community sense of community
sense of togetherness is African
and so that is in essence what Ubunto is all about
so I'm knowing it I went out to create the mind shift
uh system
(33:36):
I call it the mind shift system
sometimes I call it suitcase when I'm travelling
uh because it is a tool
quite a lot of people say I am because we are
they don't know what it means
so I created a tool that has three pillars
it's a personal growth collective growth concept
the first pillar is knowing who you are
(33:58):
I am goes beyond your physical presence
you know people and your accolades
it goes deep deep
deep deep
and show you how multifaceted
and multiple layered you are as a human being
and that gives you points of connection
if you and I can connect
because you say you're in Europe
I'm here there's something
(34:19):
maybe mother could connect us
maybe migration the story of migration connectors maybe
uh you know
there's always something
but you have to know what you are in the envelope of
I am who you are
you know in that suitcase
uh we are is about building relationships
building relationships with others
and um
(34:39):
from the perspective of you knowing that you're
you're multidimensional knowing that
you can always pick one button
to connect with anybody in the world
even the Nazi I can pick one point
people who say we hate Africans
some of them are mothers when I say as a mother
what are your aspirations for your children
and then they will see that we have the same aspiration
(34:59):
and if they're open we can connect
that's already a door that is open
it's based on the fact that I know
so uh
the third pillar is we I am because we are there
you get principles to build
mutually beneficial relationships wow
be it private be social or in your professional life
you be on earth and the things that
you know and do are much bigger than
(35:21):
you know
you are here to serve a much bigger good than you know
then you become mindful you become uh conscious
you become humble you become uh intentional
you become a um
a yeah
intentional that's the word
you become intentional in the things that you do
because you know
it's about building a legacy
(35:41):
it's not about you stand above your ego
and you start seeing a much bigger picture yeah
you left Austra
chose South Africa
stayed a while there
and then you've moved again to another African space
which is so beautiful Sao Tome & Principe
(36:06):
now sometimes people will now think
and people tell themselves
I even tell myself that
but thank God I'm not telling myself that again
sometimes you tell yourself
it's too late to start again
I'm too old to redo this to do this again right
you you have
we come up with these excuses
how do you manage to say now I'm done
(36:30):
now I want something else
I want something more I wanna try again
and you move to a new country
um doing a lot of healing
writing has been very healing for me
and when you hear some of the wound
you hear your fears you hear that the fear for
for judgement you know
for the fear of being judged
(36:50):
when you go through all of those
when you wake up every morning say
what is the next highest level
you quickly realise when you have uh
when uh
you when
when your mission in a second space is done
and uh
during the pandemic I realised that uh
my mission in South Africa was complete
how do you know that when you aspire for much more
(37:11):
and that is not what's coming
when you become more frustrated everyday
yeah
and then you come again to the point where you think
okay should I just give up and just ask
go for what it is and people will say nah yeah
it could be even better it could be worse and
and you mentioned comfort zone before
sometimes you don't go we don't go in our comfort zone
yes
(37:31):
sometimes your comfort zone becomes
it becomes your your
your your
your dream killer it becomes your mission killer
I have written so many books in South Africa now
I wanted to do something else
and South Africa was not giving me that
and I wasn't going to settle for that
Mandela said there is no point to be found
settling for
a life that is worth less than the one that
(37:53):
you are worthy of I told myself
I don't want to regret
when I do my healing and I start moving on
I don't want to have regrets
but also because I've seen
how my children have excel in my absence
my children have graduated from school
they are starting new missions
and I was like I started writing book in South Africa
when they were in secondary schools
and that now they've graduated
(38:13):
they've gone to something bigger
I need another next big level
and I think I need a bigger challenge
you need to graduate
and start to make him handy
and so I
I moved I moved
before I could even think is when I got here
that I started going down on my knees and said
so why am I here what should I do here
oh so does that mean that when you feel
(38:35):
when you notice and you feel that urge
because I believe people listing now on
watching will want to get some tips here and learn
so does that mean that when you feel the urge and
and you take you just go
you just go take that step
don't think about all how
what's going to happen how is not gonna happen
(38:56):
just take the action
and then when you get to the mountain
climb the mountain
sometimes
the fear of failure stop people from succeeding hmm
you you
you step on your way now
I must say my children are grown up
and I was in South Africa all by myself
it's an easier decision for me to take than when I had
(39:19):
I would have children school children and all of that
yes yes
yes but
but still if you feel like you're doing it
have an honest conversation with your children
mmm our children can be so understanding
when we explain things to them
that's true and sometimes you just have to leap
leap and go go try it
(39:40):
and if it doesn't work you can always turn around
but I am the radical person
when I live I live for good
when I left Austria I gave away everything
my house I left with 2 suitcases
when I left when left South Africa
I gave everything again away
but the universe has a way of providing
in Sao Tome
someone gave me a place to stay for 1 year
(40:00):
I did not have to pay rent one year
not even water Bill not even electricity
and then uh
when I moved around people give me the hand me downs
yes so and
and I take and that's how you build relationships
yes when you covered all your stuff
it may not even fit you're living behind that life
because you were not happy with it anymore
(40:21):
yes and then
you're bringing all the energy from there into there
yeah so let them all go
take a leap of faith try it out
and if you're open
and receptive to the totality of possibilities
and opportunities so much will happen
it also sounds like a cleansing
it sounds like a cleansing process
(40:41):
like a cleansing journey for
for for one soul actually to
to be able to be content with just yourself
not all material things that you think you might need
then you realize you don't need it
you just need yourself to be with yourself
to be with people to be in a community and
(41:02):
but this is an unconventional strategy of um
bravery and this kind of bravery definitely
I would imagine it comes with lots of criticism
lots of I mean so much criticism
so my question to you is
(41:23):
how did you deal with this criticism
that you didn't let it get into your head and deviate
you take you away from your plan
and uh do you forgive yourself
uh do you forgive this people
you know how do you deal with it
or maybe you didn't even have any criticism
maybe the whole world was cheering for you
(41:43):
for you maybe it was just you
but how did you have any and how did you deal with it
if you did if the whole world is cheering for you
you got to be very very skeptical something is very
very wrong
you know in my Globuntu concept
I have a one tool that I call the relationship map yes
and in the relationship map
(42:04):
I map out people in my space okay
and I always make sure that I have two Vips
maximum 3 VIPs are Very Irritating People oh
not very important people
why because I have my cheerleaders
I have my vision bearers
I have my stores
and the VIP are those people who will criticize you
(42:27):
who will tell you is not working
and those are the people that give me adrenaline
I want to prove to them that it works also
they show you your blind spots yeah
the people who will say oh
no one has done this before
or how do you think is gonna succeed
or why would you leave your children behind
oh this is not do you have insurance do you have yeah
so they you they
they when when I hear them talk when I go to them
(42:50):
I go to them to learn
I put on what I call my researchers mindset
my concept is called mind shift
so I'm constantly shifting my mind
depending on who I'm dealing with
where I'm going to what I want to hear
and what I want to take out of that lesson
that I want to learn so when I go to my VIP
I shift my mind to the space of a researcher
(43:11):
a researcher needs to find facts
and need to share with people
so why they're talking I'm in my mind is saying ah
take care of that have you checked that
I take care I do I'm not even justified to them
you know
explaining you know what and I'm just saying oh
they say this um have you checked that
is that alright
tick in my head and keep talking keep talking ah no
no you have to check that
(43:32):
that's a blind spot I had do some research there
there I go to them and
and it was such as mine I come out with my solution
and things that I know that I have to work on
this is a new way
new revolutionary approach to the nay sayers
I've not heard about this approach
(43:53):
you hear so many different ways of how to hear
naysayers do this
do this do this
but this is so empowering and it's so loving it
it shows so much compassion for yourself and for them
thank you so much for sharing this
and you're welcome yes
and
and I know now that you are in this beautiful island
(44:17):
and you're shaking anywhere you go
you're shaking the place again
and I hear about what you're about to do um
organise and and your vision and your mission there
what you want to achieve with the communities there
first of all how is this place how
how would you tell someone that's never been to
Sao Tome & Principe
(44:37):
how does this place look like
how is life there
compared to maybe South Africa or Austria
there's no comparison you can't compare
this place holds so much geographically speaking
is the centre of our planet
this is where you have the the the
the the northern hemisphere
cross the southern hemisphere
(45:00):
and so there's this more tiny island here
when you stand there
you're standing on the land of the equator
your foot your one foot is on the north
and the one foot is on the south
you're standing on the point of 0
0 and that's no other place in the world
that's this is where
and there's talking about the centre of our planet
that is the number one number two
Sao Tome
is a place that was used as a labouratory to
(45:23):
to disrupt our humanity forever
this is where the concept of enslavement
was first experimented implemented uh
in on the African continent
and so um it carries our
our our our trauma but at the same time
our history is the healing place
is a place where you come to reconnect
(45:44):
the place where you come to heal
so Sao Tome & Princip is Africa second smallest uh
uh country
people are very very uh chill
very relaxed and very friendly
this is where like Ubuntu is here
humanity is here um
it is also the place where um
people don't rush you may say it's detrimental
if you're used to the rush hours and
(46:06):
you know uh
I mean here is like times stood still like kind to still
there is no fast foods chain when you go to
you can buy your your
your fabric
and go to the tailor and get it sewn for you
there are no uh shopping malls
there are no fast food chains here
people cook food naturally
everything is organic so
(46:28):
it's just the place to be if you are
if you have reached that point in your life
where you're building a legacy
where you're no more looking for bling
bling because there's no bling
bling here whether you're so grounded
or a place where you come to heal
you come to connect with your ancestors
with your soul where you come to find yourself
(46:48):
to rejuvenate to reboot
that is that place
and so
are there so much that I could say about something
I can imagine
if people want to come here
join our retreat and just come here for a retreat
and experience it for yourself
life began in Africa
and we believe that healing the world
will also happen in Africa
(47:08):
and we have a lot of medicinal plants around us
um that we want to leverage on
especially Afro descendants
wanting to return to the continent
and not knowing where to go
Sao Tom is an absolute uh
um gateway back into the continent
it was used by the enslavers
(47:28):
to take Africans out of the continent
we can use it to bring back the diaspora uh
giving the safety and all that
it is uh
using it as your uh step
you know
the stepping stone to get way back to the continent uh
is something that could be very
very interesting for African descendants
yes I
I can imagine just listening to you and
(47:49):
and seeing how vibrant you are right
now it's it's enticing
it's luring I'm gonna take you back
back to Austra for a second
because something I just listen to you now
makes me ask the question
that there's a new generation already there
(48:11):
doing the work that you started
um what were you
what advice would you give to a 20 something year old
now in
in Europe that has anti racism work going on that has
um diversity work going on
that demands Equality that wants to be seen
(48:33):
what advice would you give them right now
and how to go on that journey when you
from your experience
I will
one thing would be I will ask them what is your vision
just imagine everything is right
and you don't have to fight for anything
imagine everything was equal and you had it all
who would you want to be what would you want to do
(48:55):
I was pushed into becoming an anti racism expert
in Austria I was pushed into becoming a diversity queen
I was pushed into so many things
I was reacting on my on my environment
on what the environment was throwing at me
and had I not left Austria
I would never have become the Serial author that I am
I will still be doing anti racism work
(49:16):
I will still be running about these things
and the environment makes you
to become who you were not meant to be
oh my God in spite of that you don't become that person
you constantly justify your presence
and fighting to become who you think
people think you should be
far away from who you really
truly are and can be so
(49:36):
So I charge young the young generation
um yes
racism is there but it's not your job
if you don't feel a calling for it
don't go into it yes
do something else imagine Africa was never colonized
imagine there was no enslavement
and we don't have to deal with all of this negativity
who how great we have been
(49:57):
mmm so
do not let the environment that you live in
overshadow your greatness
by pushing you into becoming a reactioner
into becoming a reactor instead of a creator
when I went to South Africa and started doing my work
I realised I was born to be a creator
I could write books easily
very easily
but I had been made to become a fixer of a system
(50:20):
that is not mine
and that was long done before I was born
and which will always be there
there is no way we can fix European systems
we can't but we can fix ourselves
so outside the young people
find your dream go for it
do it you don't have to become anti racism expert
you were not born it's not even a job description
(50:40):
you were not born with it
yes and
and that if I
yes yes
and I think actually just listen to what you say now
when we find discover ourselves
without being reactive to the environment
like
we really just discover what we are passionate about
our vision then we show up 100% for ourselves
(51:04):
and when we show up and we're happier yes
we are happier we can leave our greatness
and it's this collective greatness
that actually reflects the African continent
and then it's a whole different story wow
what would you define as success now
we are all successful in life
(51:25):
we are either successful in being unsuccessful
or we are successful in finding ways to
be who we could truly be
by tapping into our next masterpiece everyday
so um
and whichever way it is in our hands to choose
and success uh
in many ways is not having a big bank account
it may not be that it's just for me doing the thing
(51:47):
waking up in the morning and saying
I'm glad I still got giving a day and saying
what is the next thing that I can do today
it's about doing things that matter to you
things that create a legacy
things that improve someone else's life
things that um bring joy into your heart
okay okay
thank you so much when
(52:09):
when that brings money it is fine
sometimes some people's successes is just
you know in African country we say uh
being successful or rich it's not about
the amount of money that you have in your account
we see so many people in other cultures who
have a lot of money
but they are totally unhappy unhappy yeah
they they you know they just yawn
they just groaning everywhere and
(52:30):
and wallowing at all the time
but riches in African sense
is the number of people that you can call upon
when you're in need MMM
you are rich
when there are people that you can call upon
if I don't have food to eat
I know I can call someone that can bring me food
if I don't have the debt to lie on
someone has and when I tell you
(52:50):
people have been giving me their hand down
I have things in the house that I did not even buy
in an environment that I just came into
that's what I call richness wow
and when there is money in the bank
it's fine it doesn't mean don't go for money
it doesn't mean you shouldn't earn money
but when you become rich
when you discover rich people as richness
(53:14):
people as richness
you may not have millions on your bank account
but you will never go hungry and you'll be happy that
yes so please make money uh
if it makes you happy but also
notice that if your work just makes people richer
in your space
people you can call or call when you're in need
some of us were not born to make big monies
(53:34):
because we not know how to manage it anyway
it will make us unhappy we want
to have lots of people around us
who have the little that we can all share and be happy
yes and and
and money money actually it's um
an idea that we created money is a tool to do to change
yeah exactly though
(53:57):
yeah so
so we can really just build our values around
a tool that actually meant to help us
you know so I
I totally appreciate you defining and explaining
what success could look like uh
you know and we're coming to the round up
could you share your favourite quote on resilience
(54:20):
oh there are couple of thems them
one is when
sometimes when things look like they're falling apart
they're actually falling in place hmm
another one and this one comes from Gwen Daya
it say he says
when we change the way we look at things
then things will look at change
when we change the way we look at things
(54:44):
then things will look at change wow
so let me give you an example
if I was just looking about the fact that uh
look
this little brat that I told you about in the beginning
yes in the kindergarten yes
you push me to actually becoming a serial author
you know when I change the fact that she provoked me
she open she she triggered me
(55:05):
and that triggering Led me to wanting to know more
to find out to find answers
so I just changed the way I could have said
this little kid abused me
you know I could say any other thing
yes yes
when we change the way we're looking at
whatever situation and we always say
and people some people say
there's always another side to the coin
that's almost the same thing
(55:25):
yes so how we react
yeah in control about reaction
not the action of the other
that's right yeah
and then another one is Mandela said
it always seems impossible until it is done
possible if you never try it
you never know how easy it was to get it done
(55:46):
now having spent so much years on earth
share
one of the most valuable lessons you've Learned so far
from your experience
uh is that my children are more uh
my children and the children in the world
they are more than we think that they can
(56:08):
they can take much more and we sometimes as parent
we have to sit back and let our children parent us
it's so enriching when we can do that
sit back
it doesn't mean you're missing out on your authority
just sit back and listen let the kids teach you
hmm that's one of my biggest lessons
if at this moment you had all the tools
(56:32):
and the resources to do anything you desired
what would you do
I will I will open up a school
I will open an African centric school
and I will teach kids on
how to embrace their African identity
with pride so that they can stand tall all the time
thank you so much for this session
(56:54):
thank you for being so bold in
in all the experiences that you've had and sharing it
for taking time and just been here and been open
willing to have this conversation
this very bold conversation
I personally have Learned so much
and I'm so excited to share this with our audience
(57:16):
that was it we've done it thank you
the problem is that you outgrow the system
it's time to forge a bold future
and my guest today is Ankweta Beatrice Achaleke
known for her book series
Africa for Smart Kids
over 30 years of international experience
first black woman to stand for parliamentary elections
in Austria I was very mission during the
(00:21):
when I left Austria I gave away everything
my house I left with two suitcases
after 20 years in Europe breaking barriers
she made a radical decision
it is time for Africa I was pushed into becoming
Beatrice's Globuntu transformation mindset system
is helping people and organisations worldwide
(00:41):
to unlock their true potential
you packed your bags after you
you you've been on stage
you've you've spoke
you supported so many people
you've done so much good work here
I mean everybody looking from the outside will be like
what the what
what does she want what's she looking for
and some people will be like ugh
(01:01):
she's going to Africa huh
but you went unapologetically
you went what made you
what made you come to that decision
because I I guess it's not overnight
so how did you realize one day thinking
I need something else
and what made you make that decision
so thank you so much for having me on your podcast
(01:23):
I am absolutely delighted to be here
and to be having this conversation with
none other than you Joadre
none other than you
because you have been very pivoter on
my journey as well um
I don't know
if you even realized how much you supported me
but will probably come to that
and sometimes that decision becomes easier
(01:45):
that very hard decision
when you realize that some sisters stand behind you
that they got your shoulder
that they got your back and that you are
you can always go to them and they understand
they don't judge you and you were one of them
but before it came to that yes
many people thought like
she was very successful in Austria
she has been to places that no one has been before
(02:07):
no black woman
she has stood for parliamentary elections
she has created organisations
she's run this big conferences
she can speak to anyone
and then all of a sudden I call it shit happens
I like to be very very unapologetic about that
because quite often
when we are busy doing the things that we do
we are very mission driven
(02:29):
I was very mission driven
I was not out to do business to earn money
but I was trying to create a future where my children
and my children children
and the children that look like my children
will not have to constantly
justify their presence in Austria
so I I was out to prepare the society for my children
(02:52):
and my great grandchildren
and children they looked at like them
so uh
it got to the point where
even though I was always busy being busy
and my daughter always had a way of reminding me
you're always very busy but
never have enough money
and when my bank manager tells me Mrs
Achelek
I see you everywhere but not on your bank account
ha ha ha ha ha ha and when those messages that coming
(03:16):
you know that you're in for trouble if you don't react
mmm I did not pay attention to that
I did not react so
I got to the point where I wasn't able to pay my rent
for two months in a house that I paid a down uh
mortgage for 45,000 euros
yeah
and because of months not being able to pick the rent
(03:37):
the landlord came after me with a lawyer
and they wanted to evict me
and they stood at my door at 5 o'clock in the morning
even long after I had paid the rent
and so much happened I said like shit happened yes
yes and so uh
when I tried to explain it to some people around me
I called some of the ministers
and some of the big shots that were around me
I said hey
trouble is knocking at my door
(03:59):
is there any way you can assist
and I heard some people say
that's all your fault
because you're asking for too much
you've you've achieved so much in Austria
and yet you keep asking
you keep criticizing the system and I was like okay
I hear you and when then um
when people start saying such things
your I realized that I had outgrown my environment
(04:21):
because I knew I was just 46
and I thought about my grandmother who
who could neither read nor write
who did so much in her village
and I thought like
and some people said go for social welfare
and I was like at 46 going for social welfare
when life is only just beginning
I mean what example am I setting for my children
(04:44):
and what would my grandmother say
so I told myself um
the the the problem is that you outgrow the system
you came here to study anyway
so you extended your stay
now you are grow the system
you have two choices
either stay stagnate and wallow and be bitter
end up a Seneca black woman in Europe
(05:04):
or pack your two suitcases and go back home and
where you can still grow yeah
so um
I did some soul searching conversations with me
I I needed someone whose shit was bigger than mine
you will excuse my language
but when it happens you have to yeah
say it I mean
your audience your audience will excuse the language
but we don't means what what
(05:24):
you know when things like that happen
so um
I knew that I needed someone whose
shit was bigger than mine
and so I found Nelson Mandela
who was sentenced to then
who never knew that he was ever going to come out
from prison
and so I went into an unspoken conversation with him
trying to understand him
and trying to get my understanding of his situation
(05:46):
to talk me out of myself pity party
um and then I realize I still had friends
Mandela did not have I have a smartphone
a cell phone Mandela did not have
I'm still online he was not online anywhere
I still have social media
when I realise I have so much
I still have my house I still have my kids
(06:06):
and so I had to sit down
and have serious conversation with my children
I said listen
if something is going to happen
I'm going to make a very radical decision
and because we have had an open conversation all along
they understood
uh even though if you understand if
if I tell you what my my big boss told me and what my
my my part time lawyer
my son is my part time lawyer
(06:28):
how old were they how
how old were they at that
at that time he was 12 and he was 13
going to fourteen
okay and mind you
he has just been diagnosed with diabetes
and I had no clue about diabetes
and just around that time
my kid brother
one of my kid brothers passed on in the US
(06:48):
and I wasn't able to go home
what I did is I sat on the phone and made phone calls
and I knew that when I'd stop
making the phone calls
I was not going to be able to pick the Bill
and the phone line was going to be off
I knew but I had no choice
so you
there come a time when you're in a situation like that
you just know there's just no way out
and when I looking back today
(07:09):
I tell myself my ancestors was telling me
you have over extended your stay
yeah and because you're not realising it
we need to let everything crumble around you
so that you have no choice
did you not see it coming
was there no moment like years before where you felt it
or was it just really this
big thing that had to crumble down to wake you up
(07:32):
uh I saw it coming but not in the intensity
so what really brought me down to my knees
was the fact that I was running this high profile
diversity conferences
and so uh
I had a main sponsor and that main sponsor the
the last conference that broke my leg was 2013 um
two months before the conference
(07:53):
she cancelled the €45,000 sponsorship and I was like
I am definitely not gonna let you go with this
I will not cancel the conference because of you
cause what it may
so I went ahead and did the conference and of course
all the other jobs that I had to do
I had to use it to pay for the girls
for the conference
(08:14):
and that is where the big trouble came from
I don't regret that decision
I don't
I went out of there with my head high and I think um
my ancestors are proud of me yes
Just to round that chapter up you know
sometimes we um
sometimes we outgrow our environment and um
we don't even realise it and we have all our hands full
(08:38):
but it's not giving us what we have in our hands
it's not giving us what we need
yeah because yeah
we've outgrown the space and so when we don't quit
when we don't give ourselves
the permission to make some of those radical decisions
we will stagnate
and we would missed our next masterpiece
hmm
and I do not want to miss out on my next masterpiece
(08:58):
yes yes
thank you so much because it's
this conversation is actually far away
not about regret though
the importance of this conversation is you're not alone
you're a future forger
you are someone that has taken that bold
said there's so many people
it might not be um
going back to the African continent
(09:20):
it might not be something in direction of uh moving
relocating or something
it might be something else in their life
it might be their job
that they have defined their whole existence about
you know I'm an engineer
everybody knows my family is proud and
and I can sustain my family
(09:40):
but that's not me but I want something more
but that fear you know
something needs to happen
you know so
this conversation is really for people that know
they feel
they sense that there is something else out there
that I want to do but I'm too scared to do it
do I need the wall to crumble down on me first
(10:01):
and if it does crumble down on me
am I gonna pick up myself or am I gonna
like pity myself so
that's why just listen to your story
we basically don't have excuses anymore
no and let me tell you
let me tell you
some people make their children their excuses
(10:21):
you say oh
I think you did it because
I see you are very brave sister
I don't know but I don't think that you will ever make
you could in a short while
but I don't think you will stick in there
because some people do it for the rest of their lives
yes and what I said is that
when you put the guilt on your children
for not having pursued your dreams
(10:43):
hmm what a load of vicious circle
oh it's a big load on the children
you know when you keep saying
I would have done that but
but in if not of the children
I would have done this yes
not the fact that I was married
whether that is staying in an unhappy marriage
yes it is staying in an unhappy neighborhood
an apartment that is no longer serving you a job that
you know that is breaking your neck
(11:03):
you know yes
you wake up and you're like
oh my God
do I have to go back there
mmm so when you use the children
you put a curse on them mmm
put a curse on them and you put a burden on them
and they will repeat the same thing in their own lives
and then
we would have created a vicious circle of depression
a vicious circle of unsatisfied people
(11:24):
a vicious circle of nagging human beings
especially women right
so when
when I pushed when I
my children and I pushed
when I listened to my daughter tell me uh
you living and going
gave us the permission to do our thing
to be us
and when I took the position
I said that I had three questions in my mind
(11:46):
because shortly what
when before I left
someone promised me a job in South Africa
and I did everything cancelled out a contract
two months before I left he said
I changed my mind
and all my friends said you're going nowhere
you not going to go and I said like mmm
sometimes
we give people too much importance in our lives power
(12:07):
if I don‘t go I give him
if I don't go I give this South African guy
too much powers over my life
I will spend my life saying
had he given me the job I would be in Johannesburg
another excuse so I asked myself the question
if my children ever get into a situation like this
in future
what would I want them to say mom would have done
(12:27):
like what would mom have done
and I said
what importance do I have to give this person
in my life Austria
if I stayed in Austria I would have
you know like Austria is all racist
you know the conversation we have yeah
you know play the
the the pity card and indulge in self victimization
so I said like
is this the conversation that I want to have
for the rest of my life no
(12:49):
definitely not and I thought like staying here
what does it mean for you
you have to go to the social work
to the work social welfare
you have to do this is that what you want
is that really what you want right now
no then get your head get the hell out of here
and sometimes
and sometimes it could even be the flip reason
(13:10):
in the sense that
you might actually be too comfortable
you might be in your so comfortable zone
everything is really working
like how the world expected to work
but in there you know that you can do more
you have that urge the urgency to do more
(13:32):
you have the capability to do more like comfort zone
you might have a good job
you might have a good home
you might have good friends
and everything working for you
but you know there is more work to be done
you know you want to make a difference
you know
you want to create your story in a different way
you know
then sometimes it's then so difficult to let that go
(13:55):
so
thinking about what you said
and you now decided to go
not to came um
Cameroon because you were born in Cameroon
so why did you just like divert and go South Africa
three reasons reason number one
I didn't have money to go back to Cameroon
(14:16):
when you've been abroad for 20 years
and you're going home
you're expected to bring a lot of money
have a car have a house
and I didn't have any one of those
and I did not want to go
become a liability on my family
and I did not want to bring shame upon them
because you'll be a disgrace for them and such
justifying your presence
that's right so that was No. 1
(14:38):
you may be surprised about the second reason though
um I thought like
if I am going to Africa
I want to take my kids to the place
where they can see someone
who looks like their dad
someone who looks like their mom in public life
oh
and South Africa is that country that has that mixture
because originally I was gonna take my kids with me
(14:59):
it just happened in the last minute that I could not
and then I had to leave them behind
we have all agreed that we will leave um
and so
that was the second reason I wanted them to be able
you know in Austria
they used to seeing black people in posters uh
in all kinds of with all kinds of negativity
you know yeah
yeah hunger
poverty and all of that and um
I had been to South Africa
(15:21):
and I can see people in public life
black and white you know
I I thought like
this is the place where I want my kids to be
to grow up in
and the third one which is not the least one though
was because I had start working on my concept
that I called Globuntu mindshift
and
because I had that unspoken conversation with Mandela
in my book you see
I was telling Mandela I'm coming to your city
(15:42):
I want to put my tiny feet in your tiny
in your big feet teach me
learn me uh
no guide me to what I want to be able to um
to transform my what it looks like
my breakdown now into my absolute breakthrough
just like you did coming out of prison
so I needed to go to South Africa
to learn more about Ubuntu
and to learn more about Mandela
(16:04):
and I'm glad that I did and and
and when you when you landed South Africa
you know that plane just touched the ground
how did you feel
uh it was a very mixture of feelings because I
had just left my kids behind uh
and when you land you think like okay
it is definite
this plane is like when you're up in the air is like
(16:26):
okay I'm not yet at destination
something could stick up
and I could still turn back and go to them
you know even though deep within your heart
you know you're not going back
but when it touches down and you like
I'm out you see Johannesburg
welcome to South Africa I'm like okay
goodbye Austria but where are my kids
so that was where my first confusion
the first two days I was like completely disorientated
(16:47):
was it like a guilt did you
did you feel a kind of no
it was not guilt it was not guilt
it was just a realization that were now separated
and I needed those two days to reorientate to say
you not gonna put yourself in a self pity again
and I was trying to figure out
what kind of conversation
(17:08):
am I going to have with the children
that doesn't lead them to the space
where they keep saying they miss me and I keep saying I miss you
and when you say you miss someone it
it doesn't really mean that um
it's in some cases it doesn't hurt
especially when you're at such a long distance
with children and mom and children
I didn't want to have that conversation
(17:30):
so when I came out of those two days
my kids and I would have another conversation
I think it was our second conversation since I landed
and we agree that we love each other passionately
we are committed to each other
but we are not atached to each other
we don't want to do attachment
because with attachment comes pain
(17:51):
it comes disappointment
comes jealousy comes all kinds of things
but if you're able to love without being attached
and I thought myself
is something happened in South Africa
and I passed on
I want my children to be able to stand on their feet
so in order to do that
I don't have to go tell them I miss you
I rather tell them I'm proud of you
I'm so happy for you I see how you're doing
(18:14):
I love what you who you're becoming
so that conversation
so that it gives them some grounding
and gives them some level of self confidence
and gives them our ownership
over the decisions that they will make in their lives
wow do you know how I knew listen
just I knew that being in Johannesburg far away
meant that I couldn't be the mother
(18:36):
that I would have wanted to be
so how
to shift my mind
to becoming the mother that I could be
to them from a distance
which means sometimes just being as a a listener
not being your mother sometimes just being guiding them
sometimes just letting them teach you
life from their perspective
so I needed those two days to shift my mind
(18:58):
to understand what kind of mother I am going to be
from a distance yes
yes yes
wow you can be that fixxing mother from from
from a distance you can't
so I had to learn how to trust that my children
and my kids dad
would make different decisions that I would have made
but that this decisions are good for them
and that whatever happens
(19:20):
everything will be fine yes
so those were the things that I needed to figure out
within those two days that I was kind of confused
wow so
hmm I
I am just like I need to digest this
because this is so emotional on different levels
and empowering because one
(19:41):
somehow we've um
especially women we
we have somehow observed a rule of what mothering means
right and that's so much in our minds
that if we deviate a beat
maybe even to the best to the advantage of our family
(20:02):
our children ourselves
our ecosystem
but it does not fit what we have put in our minds
that we should be doing then it's a drama
so you
explaining
this really opens up possibilities for so many women
that mothering is not about control
it's about trust it's about so many other things
(20:23):
it's about letting go and trusting right
and then
I will accept that things will not always be done
the way you want them done
but trusting that
the fact that they're not done the way
you want them done doesn't mean that they're done wrong
yes yes
yes does that does
was that somehow an inspiration for you
(20:44):
to start writing books for children
and working with children
as an order to make them tell their stories
did that somehow connect
not yet not yet
uh the reason why I started writing books
there were two reasons why
I was in Austria when I was 36
I had my daughter and I took her to Kinder
who were living in brightonford
(21:05):
and this little brat of a kindergarten child
three years came up to me and said
oh how nice that you brown people came into Austria
because if you did not come to our country
you'll be starving in Africa
and you'll be living with trees on the
with monkeys on trees right
in our in Brightenfurt
in our village there is a Billa and a Zielpunkt
so you can buy food and eat and not starve
(21:27):
and she looked me straight in the eye and I was like
completely like where is this coming from
where does she get the courage
yes courage
my surprise she said to me like oh
does Africa contribute anything to the world
what does it tell me
I I
I just was speechless I could not
and that I carried that with me
(21:47):
and that you will know in Austria
people ask you all kinds of stupid questions
yes and they were asking my children
so when my at
I was I told my kid when they were young that one day I
no my daughter started saying
you must write books about Africa
so
that I don't have to answer all the stupid questions
all the time make a dictionary haha when
when she came to visit me in South Africa in 2016
(22:09):
that was the first visit yeah
her friends called her on WhatsApp
and they're asking her do you have water to drink
do you have electricity do you have internet
should we send you food and she was like stupid foolish
you're talking to me on the
on WhatsApp and this is internet
and then she turned around to me and said mom
this is time you have no excuses
(22:30):
you're back in Africa write books for kids
write books about Africa that was where I got my
my contract from in German you say Auftrag
she writing books yes
yes and I
but sometimes I also think that this um
direct or indirect of passive confrontation racist
(22:54):
um ignorant confrontations
um about the African continent
about brown people people of colour
sometimes I think
it pushes us
to be on a mode of justifying our presence
so
you're consistently trying to justify why you're there
(23:15):
why you're brown yes
there's water yes
there's light and everything
and it came to a point for me where I thought like
seriously
why should I be teaching you your ignorance
no no
no I'm investing too
much of my energy in that
instead of actually following my purpose
so I understand
(23:35):
and I appreciate when a younger generation is doing it
but I believe personally
that when you get to certain age
after doing it for a while
let the younger generation do it
and focus on your purpose
because then they win because then
you use all your resources and energy to counter them
instead of actually developing yourself
(23:58):
and who goes away with trauma
you're right but I
I I think
I did not finish my thought with that little brat
yeah so
when I moved to Africa I was like
you could not answer that little brat
so find your answers who are you as an African woman
what does Africa contribute to the world
(24:20):
mmm now you're here and your daughter is telling you
write books so
I wrote books first to find answers
for me it was me in search of my identity
it was me in search of my African greatness
it was me in search of my
my vast heritage that I did not know
I grew up in a colonial system of education
(24:40):
and then
we all go to Europe in search of greener pastures
yes and the unspoken
the subconscious in our subconscious mind
we're saying that what we have is not good enough
good enough is what is abroad
in the country
of the person that colonised and enslaved my ancestors
so I needed to change
the paradigm and go for my Africanness
(25:00):
so what does it take to be an African woman
before I left Austria I used to say
I'm an Austrian from Cameroon
and are you to fight hard
when people tell me when are you going back home
I'm like are you kidding me
home is here and I'm going to die here
I will find my place in the central
and the central graveyard
but after I started writing the books
(25:22):
I found myself in a way that wherever I go
I tell people I'm a very very
very very proud African woman
I don't justify now
I'm just being because I know that I come from this
and my thing writing the books also
is to pass on what I learnt too late
pass it earlier on to the next generation
(25:44):
so that they don't have to go through all that
justification so that they don't have to go order
lack of self confidence or the lack of self worth
you know they don't have to over
they don't have to wait until they are my age
yes so they do that
yes oh my God
this is good this is good stuff for people to
(26:04):
to listen to because um
there are so many young people
that are trying to find their identity
and I re I remember like you just said
um I was also schooled in a British school
and the secondary school I went to
I remember that you couldn't even speak uh
pigeon English
not to talk about speaking your own language
(26:26):
it was so bad that my parents
because they wanted us to be very good in school
never spoke like encouraged us to learn our language
it was from my grandmother when I was 16 17
I started learning a EDO my language
and at that time when I was young with
with the friends in this British elite school
(26:46):
and everything it was a kind of pride like
oh no no
you speak the British language and
and that's how you should talk
you don't speak your
you don't even have another language
you know
and I remember carrying that identity for a long time
right and uh
when I came to Europe um
(27:08):
so my family they broke up and everything
so reality struck too
so there was nothing elite and rich anymore to enjoy
but when I came to Europe
I now started thinking like
oh wow
we're not even really like celebrated accepted here
so what's this whole fuzz about right
how did we come up with this whole curriculum and idea
(27:31):
in in Nigeria actually
that the kids must be you know
taught like this literally
we learnt Shakespeare Macbeth
we never really learnt anything from
from the continent
literatures from the continent and everything
and that was for me like in my early 20s
realising that in Europe
I felt like it's so late because the identity
(27:53):
of a person really got
starts getting formed when they are 3 years old
5 years old 10 years old
so I really appreciate books for young people
especially in comic forms encouraging them to write
so thank you so much for going on that journey
and making those books
and opening it up for young people
(28:14):
to actually start tapping
to identity I am so curious about the Ubuntu philosophy
I've been following you listen to it and I'm like
I want to know more about it what is Ubuntu
um Ubuntu
before we go to Ubuntu
I just wanted to touch on something that you mentioned
about young people and the identity
(28:35):
I'm so proud of my daughter
she knows Africa more than I do now
we just counted that
she's traveled many more African countries that I have
and she stood up on her bucket list this year
to travel many more
and what made me even prouder is today
she sat down and she was saying mom
I want to organise my retreat at and invite uh
she calls them uh uh
(28:56):
children of African descent
who coming to Africa for the first time
take your first identity finding trip
she has coined out some words there
and she's saying she wants to bring them here
so that they got to learn about their identity
so they don't have to struggle
because they struggle a whole lot
you are like they call you black African
you've never been to Africa
and she is already at her because she's seen her
(29:19):
what that you know
how that makes her grounded
knowing her African identity
uh she keeps learning all the time about that
and just
the fact that she doesn't learn just for herself
she sees a daughter go now she wants to involve
her best friend is coming here very soon
and then not only is she happy about that
she wants to engage other young people
and bring them here
(29:40):
so they can learn about the identity
and that makes me think our children are watching us
hmm it's not very much about what we say to them
but what yes
you do yeah
that counts they watch you
and so we got better be careful about what we're doing
not what we say hmm
she think me pack my things and go
(30:00):
and she's seeing me struggling to thrive sometimes
she sends me money I mean
by the little girl that I left behind at 11 and
and she she doesn't say mom
you should come back to Europe
that has never come out of my mouth
instead she says
I'll come join you yes
and so it speaks a whole lot
our children watch us and so
as black women as as
(30:21):
as as mothers
we got to really really
really make sure that we match what we're saying
with what we're doing but most of all
make sure that what we're doing
is something that will empower our children
because that's what they're looking
especially if when we have girls
girls watch what we do
I'm very sure that we can tap into the Ubuntu
(30:44):
philosophy here too
yes so Ubuntu
let's go to it um
and uh
Wontu is an African philosophy
uh it's at home in South Africa
but in mostly all African countries
just under different names
and it is
one of the most democratic concept in the whole world
one of the most mindful concept in the whole world
(31:06):
and it's actually very spiritual
in just one short sentence
that even a kindergarten kid will understand
I am who I am because of you or because of us
that simply means of as beings
we are interconnected
our destinies are intricately interconnected
(31:28):
with one another and everything that we do
affects the whole ecosystem that we live in
whether we know it or not
so if we know that we are intricately interconnected
and that um
what we do affect each other
we become mindful of the things that we knew we do
because even if we don't see the effect
(31:50):
it affects if and then that interconnectedness look
we are speaking to the true devices and internet yeah
you may never meet the people who created this device
yeah but using these devices connect us with them
and when we use them with respect
we are respecting those people
and so it is a concept that really grounds you
(32:12):
and makes you understand that
the kind of relationship that you build with others
determine and shape who you become in future
and who you become is part of an ecosystem
you may say it doesn't affect me today
but it will affect your great
great great grandchildren somewhere
because they're in the ecosystem
(32:32):
and a very good example is the pandemic
uh the pandemic
the study started in China
it didn't take long and we all were in it
yeah it didn't know rich
it didn't know Africa or non Africa
so uh
that was our interconnectedness being
you know projected in front of us right there
what we call Ubuntu
Ubuntu has principles that you follow in order to um
(32:55):
to be able to live a life of interconnectedness
to be able to tap into the power of your community
because as Africans we are community people
we are people's people yes
um when you see Africans in Europe
they suffer most when they can't say hello to people
people don't greet that becomes a big issue for them
(33:16):
they have community around
individualism is European
and that collectivity that connectedness
that community sense of community
sense of togetherness is African
and so that is in essence what Ubunto is all about
so I'm knowing it I went out to create the mind shift
uh system
(33:36):
I call it the mind shift system
sometimes I call it suitcase when I'm travelling
uh because it is a tool
quite a lot of people say I am because we are
they don't know what it means
so I created a tool that has three pillars
it's a personal growth collective growth concept
the first pillar is knowing who you are
(33:58):
I am goes beyond your physical presence
you know people and your accolades
it goes deep deep
deep deep
and show you how multifaceted
and multiple layered you are as a human being
and that gives you points of connection
if you and I can connect
because you say you're in Europe
I'm here there's something
(34:19):
maybe mother could connect us
maybe migration the story of migration connectors maybe
uh you know
there's always something
but you have to know what you are in the envelope of
I am who you are
you know in that suitcase
uh we are is about building relationships
building relationships with others
and um
(34:39):
from the perspective of you knowing that you're
you're multidimensional knowing that
you can always pick one button
to connect with anybody in the world
even the Nazi I can pick one point
people who say we hate Africans
some of them are mothers when I say as a mother
what are your aspirations for your children
and then they will see that we have the same aspiration
(34:59):
and if they're open we can connect
that's already a door that is open
it's based on the fact that I know
so uh
the third pillar is we I am because we are there
you get principles to build
mutually beneficial relationships wow
be it private be social or in your professional life
you be on earth and the things that
you know and do are much bigger than
(35:21):
you know
you are here to serve a much bigger good than you know
then you become mindful you become uh conscious
you become humble you become uh intentional
you become a um
a yeah
intentional that's the word
you become intentional in the things that you do
because you know
it's about building a legacy
(35:41):
it's not about you stand above your ego
and you start seeing a much bigger picture yeah
you left Austra
chose South Africa
stayed a while there
and then you've moved again to another African space
which is so beautiful Sao Tome & Principe
(36:06):
now sometimes people will now think
and people tell themselves
I even tell myself that
but thank God I'm not telling myself that again
sometimes you tell yourself
it's too late to start again
I'm too old to redo this to do this again right
you you have
we come up with these excuses
how do you manage to say now I'm done
(36:30):
now I want something else
I want something more I wanna try again
and you move to a new country
um doing a lot of healing
writing has been very healing for me
and when you hear some of the wound
you hear your fears you hear that the fear for
for judgement you know
for the fear of being judged
(36:50):
when you go through all of those
when you wake up every morning say
what is the next highest level
you quickly realise when you have uh
when uh
you when
when your mission in a second space is done
and uh
during the pandemic I realised that uh
my mission in South Africa was complete
how do you know that when you aspire for much more
(37:11):
and that is not what's coming
when you become more frustrated everyday
yeah
and then you come again to the point where you think
okay should I just give up and just ask
go for what it is and people will say nah yeah
it could be even better it could be worse and
and you mentioned comfort zone before
sometimes you don't go we don't go in our comfort zone
yes
(37:31):
sometimes your comfort zone becomes
it becomes your your
your your
your dream killer it becomes your mission killer
I have written so many books in South Africa now
I wanted to do something else
and South Africa was not giving me that
and I wasn't going to settle for that
Mandela said there is no point to be found
settling for
a life that is worth less than the one that
(37:53):
you are worthy of I told myself
I don't want to regret
when I do my healing and I start moving on
I don't want to have regrets
but also because I've seen
how my children have excel in my absence
my children have graduated from school
they are starting new missions
and I was like I started writing book in South Africa
when they were in secondary schools
and that now they've graduated
(38:13):
they've gone to something bigger
I need another next big level
and I think I need a bigger challenge
you need to graduate
and start to make him handy
and so I
I moved I moved
before I could even think is when I got here
that I started going down on my knees and said
so why am I here what should I do here
oh so does that mean that when you feel
(38:35):
when you notice and you feel that urge
because I believe people listing now on
watching will want to get some tips here and learn
so does that mean that when you feel the urge and
and you take you just go
you just go take that step
don't think about all how
what's going to happen how is not gonna happen
(38:56):
just take the action
and then when you get to the mountain
climb the mountain
sometimes
the fear of failure stop people from succeeding hmm
you you
you step on your way now
I must say my children are grown up
and I was in South Africa all by myself
it's an easier decision for me to take than when I had
(39:19):
I would have children school children and all of that
yes yes
yes but
but still if you feel like you're doing it
have an honest conversation with your children
mmm our children can be so understanding
when we explain things to them
that's true and sometimes you just have to leap
leap and go go try it
(39:40):
and if it doesn't work you can always turn around
but I am the radical person
when I live I live for good
when I left Austria I gave away everything
my house I left with 2 suitcases
when I left when left South Africa
I gave everything again away
but the universe has a way of providing
in Sao Tome
someone gave me a place to stay for 1 year
(40:00):
I did not have to pay rent one year
not even water Bill not even electricity
and then uh
when I moved around people give me the hand me downs
yes so and
and I take and that's how you build relationships
yes when you covered all your stuff
it may not even fit you're living behind that life
because you were not happy with it anymore
(40:21):
yes and then
you're bringing all the energy from there into there
yeah so let them all go
take a leap of faith try it out
and if you're open
and receptive to the totality of possibilities
and opportunities so much will happen
it also sounds like a cleansing
it sounds like a cleansing process
(40:41):
like a cleansing journey for
for for one soul actually to
to be able to be content with just yourself
not all material things that you think you might need
then you realize you don't need it
you just need yourself to be with yourself
to be with people to be in a community and
(41:02):
but this is an unconventional strategy of um
bravery and this kind of bravery definitely
I would imagine it comes with lots of criticism
lots of I mean so much criticism
so my question to you is
(41:23):
how did you deal with this criticism
that you didn't let it get into your head and deviate
you take you away from your plan
and uh do you forgive yourself
uh do you forgive this people
you know how do you deal with it
or maybe you didn't even have any criticism
maybe the whole world was cheering for you
(41:43):
for you maybe it was just you
but how did you have any and how did you deal with it
if you did if the whole world is cheering for you
you got to be very very skeptical something is very
very wrong
you know in my Globuntu concept
I have a one tool that I call the relationship map yes
and in the relationship map
(42:04):
I map out people in my space okay
and I always make sure that I have two Vips
maximum 3 VIPs are Very Irritating People oh
not very important people
why because I have my cheerleaders
I have my vision bearers
I have my stores
and the VIP are those people who will criticize you
(42:27):
who will tell you is not working
and those are the people that give me adrenaline
I want to prove to them that it works also
they show you your blind spots yeah
the people who will say oh
no one has done this before
or how do you think is gonna succeed
or why would you leave your children behind
oh this is not do you have insurance do you have yeah
so they you they
they when when I hear them talk when I go to them
(42:50):
I go to them to learn
I put on what I call my researchers mindset
my concept is called mind shift
so I'm constantly shifting my mind
depending on who I'm dealing with
where I'm going to what I want to hear
and what I want to take out of that lesson
that I want to learn so when I go to my VIP
I shift my mind to the space of a researcher
(43:11):
a researcher needs to find facts
and need to share with people
so why they're talking I'm in my mind is saying ah
take care of that have you checked that
I take care I do I'm not even justified to them
you know
explaining you know what and I'm just saying oh
they say this um have you checked that
is that alright
tick in my head and keep talking keep talking ah no
no you have to check that
(43:32):
that's a blind spot I had do some research there
there I go to them and
and it was such as mine I come out with my solution
and things that I know that I have to work on
this is a new way
new revolutionary approach to the nay sayers
I've not heard about this approach
(43:53):
you hear so many different ways of how to hear
naysayers do this
do this do this
but this is so empowering and it's so loving it
it shows so much compassion for yourself and for them
thank you so much for sharing this
and you're welcome yes
and
and I know now that you are in this beautiful island
(44:17):
and you're shaking anywhere you go
you're shaking the place again
and I hear about what you're about to do um
organise and and your vision and your mission there
what you want to achieve with the communities there
first of all how is this place how
how would you tell someone that's never been to
Sao Tome & Principe
(44:37):
how does this place look like
how is life there
compared to maybe South Africa or Austria
there's no comparison you can't compare
this place holds so much geographically speaking
is the centre of our planet
this is where you have the the the
the the northern hemisphere
cross the southern hemisphere
(45:00):
and so there's this more tiny island here
when you stand there
you're standing on the land of the equator
your foot your one foot is on the north
and the one foot is on the south
you're standing on the point of 0
0 and that's no other place in the world
that's this is where
and there's talking about the centre of our planet
that is the number one number two
Sao Tome
is a place that was used as a labouratory to
(45:23):
to disrupt our humanity forever
this is where the concept of enslavement
was first experimented implemented uh
in on the African continent
and so um it carries our
our our our trauma but at the same time
our history is the healing place
is a place where you come to reconnect
(45:44):
the place where you come to heal
so Sao Tome & Princip is Africa second smallest uh
uh country
people are very very uh chill
very relaxed and very friendly
this is where like Ubuntu is here
humanity is here um
it is also the place where um
people don't rush you may say it's detrimental
if you're used to the rush hours and
(46:06):
you know uh
I mean here is like times stood still like kind to still
there is no fast foods chain when you go to
you can buy your your
your fabric
and go to the tailor and get it sewn for you
there are no uh shopping malls
there are no fast food chains here
people cook food naturally
everything is organic so
(46:28):
it's just the place to be if you are
if you have reached that point in your life
where you're building a legacy
where you're no more looking for bling
bling because there's no bling
bling here whether you're so grounded
or a place where you come to heal
you come to connect with your ancestors
with your soul where you come to find yourself
(46:48):
to rejuvenate to reboot
that is that place
and so
are there so much that I could say about something
I can imagine
if people want to come here
join our retreat and just come here for a retreat
and experience it for yourself
life began in Africa
and we believe that healing the world
will also happen in Africa
(47:08):
and we have a lot of medicinal plants around us
um that we want to leverage on
especially Afro descendants
wanting to return to the continent
and not knowing where to go
Sao Tom is an absolute uh
um gateway back into the continent
it was used by the enslavers
(47:28):
to take Africans out of the continent
we can use it to bring back the diaspora uh
giving the safety and all that
it is uh
using it as your uh step
you know
the stepping stone to get way back to the continent uh
is something that could be very
very interesting for African descendants
yes I
I can imagine just listening to you and
(47:49):
and seeing how vibrant you are right
now it's it's enticing
it's luring I'm gonna take you back
back to Austra for a second
because something I just listen to you now
makes me ask the question
that there's a new generation already there
(48:11):
doing the work that you started
um what were you
what advice would you give to a 20 something year old
now in
in Europe that has anti racism work going on that has
um diversity work going on
that demands Equality that wants to be seen
(48:33):
what advice would you give them right now
and how to go on that journey when you
from your experience
I will
one thing would be I will ask them what is your vision
just imagine everything is right
and you don't have to fight for anything
imagine everything was equal and you had it all
who would you want to be what would you want to do
(48:55):
I was pushed into becoming an anti racism expert
in Austria I was pushed into becoming a diversity queen
I was pushed into so many things
I was reacting on my on my environment
on what the environment was throwing at me
and had I not left Austria
I would never have become the Serial author that I am
I will still be doing anti racism work
(49:16):
I will still be running about these things
and the environment makes you
to become who you were not meant to be
oh my God in spite of that you don't become that person
you constantly justify your presence
and fighting to become who you think
people think you should be
far away from who you really
truly are and can be so
(49:36):
So I charge young the young generation
um yes
racism is there but it's not your job
if you don't feel a calling for it
don't go into it yes
do something else imagine Africa was never colonized
imagine there was no enslavement
and we don't have to deal with all of this negativity
who how great we have been
(49:57):
mmm so
do not let the environment that you live in
overshadow your greatness
by pushing you into becoming a reactioner
into becoming a reactor instead of a creator
when I went to South Africa and started doing my work
I realised I was born to be a creator
I could write books easily
very easily
but I had been made to become a fixer of a system
(50:20):
that is not mine
and that was long done before I was born
and which will always be there
there is no way we can fix European systems
we can't but we can fix ourselves
so outside the young people
find your dream go for it
do it you don't have to become anti racism expert
you were not born it's not even a job description
(50:40):
you were not born with it
yes and
and that if I
yes yes
and I think actually just listen to what you say now
when we find discover ourselves
without being reactive to the environment
like
we really just discover what we are passionate about
our vision then we show up 100% for ourselves
(51:04):
and when we show up and we're happier yes
we are happier we can leave our greatness
and it's this collective greatness
that actually reflects the African continent
and then it's a whole different story wow
what would you define as success now
we are all successful in life
(51:25):
we are either successful in being unsuccessful
or we are successful in finding ways to
be who we could truly be
by tapping into our next masterpiece everyday
so um
and whichever way it is in our hands to choose
and success uh
in many ways is not having a big bank account
it may not be that it's just for me doing the thing
(51:47):
waking up in the morning and saying
I'm glad I still got giving a day and saying
what is the next thing that I can do today
it's about doing things that matter to you
things that create a legacy
things that improve someone else's life
things that um bring joy into your heart
okay okay
thank you so much when
(52:09):
when that brings money it is fine
sometimes some people's successes is just
you know in African country we say uh
being successful or rich it's not about
the amount of money that you have in your account
we see so many people in other cultures who
have a lot of money
but they are totally unhappy unhappy yeah
they they you know they just yawn
they just groaning everywhere and
(52:30):
and wallowing at all the time
but riches in African sense
is the number of people that you can call upon
when you're in need MMM
you are rich
when there are people that you can call upon
if I don't have food to eat
I know I can call someone that can bring me food
if I don't have the debt to lie on
someone has and when I tell you
(52:50):
people have been giving me their hand down
I have things in the house that I did not even buy
in an environment that I just came into
that's what I call richness wow
and when there is money in the bank
it's fine it doesn't mean don't go for money
it doesn't mean you shouldn't earn money
but when you become rich
when you discover rich people as richness
(53:14):
people as richness
you may not have millions on your bank account
but you will never go hungry and you'll be happy that
yes so please make money uh
if it makes you happy but also
notice that if your work just makes people richer
in your space
people you can call or call when you're in need
some of us were not born to make big monies
(53:34):
because we not know how to manage it anyway
it will make us unhappy we want
to have lots of people around us
who have the little that we can all share and be happy
yes and and
and money money actually it's um
an idea that we created money is a tool to do to change
yeah exactly though
(53:57):
yeah so
so we can really just build our values around
a tool that actually meant to help us
you know so I
I totally appreciate you defining and explaining
what success could look like uh
you know and we're coming to the round up
could you share your favourite quote on resilience
(54:20):
oh there are couple of thems them
one is when
sometimes when things look like they're falling apart
they're actually falling in place hmm
another one and this one comes from Gwen Daya
it say he says
when we change the way we look at things
then things will look at change
when we change the way we look at things
(54:44):
then things will look at change wow
so let me give you an example
if I was just looking about the fact that uh
look
this little brat that I told you about in the beginning
yes in the kindergarten yes
you push me to actually becoming a serial author
you know when I change the fact that she provoked me
she open she she triggered me
(55:05):
and that triggering Led me to wanting to know more
to find out to find answers
so I just changed the way I could have said
this little kid abused me
you know I could say any other thing
yes yes
when we change the way we're looking at
whatever situation and we always say
and people some people say
there's always another side to the coin
that's almost the same thing
(55:25):
yes so how we react
yeah in control about reaction
not the action of the other
that's right yeah
and then another one is Mandela said
it always seems impossible until it is done
possible if you never try it
you never know how easy it was to get it done
(55:46):
now having spent so much years on earth
share
one of the most valuable lessons you've Learned so far
from your experience
uh is that my children are more uh
my children and the children in the world
they are more than we think that they can
(56:08):
they can take much more and we sometimes as parent
we have to sit back and let our children parent us
it's so enriching when we can do that
sit back
it doesn't mean you're missing out on your authority
just sit back and listen let the kids teach you
hmm that's one of my biggest lessons
if at this moment you had all the tools
(56:32):
and the resources to do anything you desired
what would you do
I will I will open up a school
I will open an African centric school
and I will teach kids on
how to embrace their African identity
with pride so that they can stand tall all the time
thank you so much for this session
(56:54):
thank you for being so bold in
in all the experiences that you've had and sharing it
for taking time and just been here and been open
willing to have this conversation
this very bold conversation
I personally have Learned so much
and I'm so excited to share this with our audience
(57:16):
that was it we've done it thank you
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