I am always in awe when I hear the stories of professional moms who make the seemingly hard decision to re-locate their family and lives to Canada from another country. The process for many can last years and takes not only a lot of energy but often a lot of financial resources not to mention the copious amount of form-filling! Many arrive here with young families and a vision on how their lives will be different. Sometimes it is a safe haven from the violence of their home country and other times it is the promise of adventure in new surroundings. For most they arrive with no concrete job offer and face hurdles in obtaining permission to work in their field, often needing to take additional certification regardless of their background and training. They often know no one or few people and quickly must find ways to integrate themselves and their families into their new surroundings.

I recently had the good fortune of chatting with the mom of my 7 yr old daughter’s new best friend. They moved to Halifax in August of this year from Cairo, Egypt not knowing a soul. Her husband, a Dermatologist, needed to return almost immediately to Egypt to continue his medical practice while he seeks the certification to practice medicine here. This amazing woman is now supporting her three children in their new schools and extracurricular activities while she seeks meaningful career opportunities all while getting lost in the city on a daily basis. Talk about tenacity and determination!

I was thrilled when Rachel Sumner, my business partner in a local start-up company called platform space (www.platformspace.com), agreed to share her own story of immigrating to Canada 18 months ago from the UK. She is another wonderful example of a tenacious professional mom and an inspiration on determination.

My hope is that each of you reaches out a welcoming hand to new families in your town or city. It has been truly a gift to share in their experiences and a reminder of how lucky we are to live where we do!

Until next month….

Tasha Richard, National Owner of momcafé