Chidinma Chukwuemeka migrated to New Zealand in June 2022. She describes her experience as welcoming and warm and the Kiwis, as kind and accommodating people. At the point of relocating, she and her husband were grieving, having lost her son a week before travelling. She looked back and wished that they had relocated earlier, as the healthcare system in Nigeria failed them and did not diagnose her son’s symptoms properly, which led to his untimely demise. Chidinma tells her full story here:
After migrating to Auckland, I got a good job two weeks later and joined a church community where we were warmly welcomed. The church community helped with our search for a house as we were eager to leave the bed and breakfast we were lodged in and to save money. At the time of migrating, my husband and I were grieving, having lost our son, who was misdiagnosed at the hospital in Nigeria. Our mental and psychological state was compromised, but the church community and the Nigerian community gathered around us and helped us feel warm and comforted.
Also, being a part of the Edmund Hillary fellowship – which was my pathway to New Zealand, I am part of a thriving and progressive community. The Edmund Hillary fellowship brings entrepreneurs and investors into New Zealand on a global impact visa. This also helped us network, meet people and connect with the church. As part of integration into the Nigerian community, I connected with someone on Linkedin who helped us every step of the way. Now, we are fully integrated into the community, and this is our home.
One experience that stood out for me was getting a job in marketing. In Nigeria, my husband and I own a joint venture called the Footwear Academy. We were entrepreneurs back home, and transitioning from entrepreneurship to getting a job was quite the experience. I was very fortunate to get a job in marketing and footwear, both of which I have experience. One thing I have observed with the Kiwi work culture is that it is vastly different from ours. The people here are very family-conscious and love the outdoors. The weekends for them are full of adventures like camping, hiking & surfing, but in Nigeria, our idea of a fun weekend most of the time is to lay back and watch a movie after having a stressful week at work. Also, the market is different. It is easier to market to this audience because they have purchasing power, and unlike in Nigeria, where the vast disparity between the middle and lower class is evident, it is less defined in the Kiwi culture. Also, working overtime was not popular with the Kiwi people; they are very time-conscious and clocked in and out at designated hours.
Looking back, I would have migrated sooner. My 18-month-old son was sick, misdiagnosed and didn’t get the proper medical attention he needed, and he died in a Nigerian Hospital. This is my biggest regret because I feel that if we had migrated sooner, he would have had a fighting chance. Though our visas were ready, we needed to put some things in place first, and he then fell sick and died almost immediately. Apart from this one thing, we have no regrets, and I would not have done anything differently because God has favoured us in this new land in the three years we have been here.
My advice to women of color in the diaspora is to hold your head high. Life may deal us some challenging cards, but we must be resilient and tenacious. I remember when negotiating for my salary, I was not afraid to insist on what I thought I was worth. The good thing is that I got my job about 2 weeks after relocating, so I had not met many nay-sayers and Nigerians then. People were surprised at how soon I got a job, and I am grateful for this experience because I delved into the job market, got a job, negotiated accordingly, and was even ready to work away if they weren’t ready to pay me what I wanted. Sometimes, due to circumstances and happenstances, women are afraid to demand and negotiate for their worth. Some of us are unsure and not bold enough, so my advice is this: be bold, be confident, be unapologetic and unafraid to make demands from life, relationships, jobs and friendships. Also, we need to improve ourselves. I began my MBA programme to help me get an edge in the job market and grow my career. Another advice is this: keep learning, keep investing in yourself, and network with people to find your unique hub and tribe.
You can’t do life alone. Make a conscious effort to make friends, volunteer for charitable causes, and be intentional about building your network.
Chidinma Chukwuemeka tells her story from Auckland, New Zealand.
