Beyond Our Girl-Child Project, Mercy Foundation Provides Materials To Students – Dr Mba

Dr. Lina Mba is among the few successful Amazons of African descent in Edmonton, Canada that holds the enviable position of Ambassador of the multiracial city of Edmonton. In this exclusive interview with EBERE CHIBUZOR, the convener of the Leadership Conference and founder of Zeal Solutions reflects on her passion for the rehabilitation of out-of-school girl children, stressing that her foundation goes the extra mile to make provisions for these categories of society. 

Please what is the place of cultural values while raising a child to start with? 

So,  in terms of raising children while society is important but most of the work goes into what you do at home.  I endeavour to share our values with my daughter,  so I make sure, I read the Bible with her and make sure I pray with her. I let her know the need to attend children’s bible study and  I’m very intentional about values because it all starts from the home. If at home there’s no value, then that’s going to be reflected or punch in your child’s character even in a society of value so everything starts at home.  I’m very intentional about taking her to community meetings,  like the Igbo community meetings,  Yoruba community meetings, and other Nigerian community meetings so that she can have a sense of identification to know where she’s coming from and understand our Nigerian culture better. That is what I try to do to incorporate value. I keep her within the community. I don’t expose her and so she’s around a community of people with similar values. She’s growing up in a home with strong Christian and traditional Nigerian values. So, I’m not too concerned about what society may say because she has a solid foundation and I’m here to back her up physically, and spiritually to ensure that she grows up with that value.  

Again,  I’m very practical, I know it might seem like I am everywhere. Although I’m an ambassador it may shock you to know that I make dinner almost every night.  I cook so frequently because I am currently on a diet and I’m making three different meals one for my husband who loves spicy food Of course, I’m making one for myself and for my daughter because she cannot eat the spicy food I make for her father.  So, I literally cook a lot. Again,  being that she is a toddler, I have to clean and sanitize the house because she plays a lot. Remember, I’m living in Canada; Canada is not like Nigeria where you can get help easily and you’re going to be surprised that people here do things by themselves. They juggle a lot of things and they are very practical

What is your dream for Zeal Solutions in the next 5 years?

In the next five years, we hope to have more conferences globally as a worldwide in the UK in Nigeria in Dubai just all over the world. And so, we’re hoping to expand in training, and workshops and will also want to go virtual in the sense that people that might not be able to attend a workshop in person can attend online.  We are all about the impact and making sure we spread our impact all over the world.

How does it look like, coping with the different tasks of being a mother, wife etc?

It is not easy juggling this whole thing being a wife and a mother but I’m lucky to have a family that supports me.  I don’t put my business before my family, it is actually the other way around and I make sure in everything that I do my home is being taken care of. Of course,  being the ambassador and also running Zeal Solutions is not easy. This is not the traditional 9 to 5. And, my business is like a personal skill where I still have the flexibility to work within my own hours.   Again, this is what is going to be reflected upon on those girls that we are trying to empower because if they can sow, do tailoring, and do hairdressing then they can work within their hours. So that they are not taken away from their kids because most of the concerns with these girls are that they’re scared to go back to school. It is very important that the kids come first.  So, that’s what we’re trying to do by raising funds for these girls to gain skills that they can do during their own working hours while not neglecting their children.

So,  juggling it all like I said it’s just the grace of God. You just have to manage your time effectively, you have to plan like I always write.  I have different journals and different planners, and if I start my day thanking God and working through my plans, and ensuring that I manage my time effectively.

What are the tourist sites in Edmonton that will interest foreigners and tourists?

We have the aviation museum, we have the West Edmonton Mall, we have the legislature building that’s the Alberta legislature building. And,  we have other historical monuments here in Edmonton that i believe the average tourist would love to visit.  We have one of the best restaurants in Canada and Edmonton is home to many festivals. So, if you come to Edmonton hopefully and that weekend is the festival, we will be more than happy to show you. We have farmer’s market and just so many wonderful things that new tourists would enjoy.

What are some of the outstanding challenges encountered as a result of trying to gain the ambassador position?

As a black representative, you’re going to have a lot of white counterparts that feel that you’re not qualified enough and that is not just my position but the other positions like anyone here in Canada that is in the workforce can tell you the same. When you’re a black person and you’re made into a position of leadership there’s going to be a lot of people that will question it.

Who is this guy?  Who is this lady? Where did she get her education from?  When did she come to Canada?  Is she even Canadian? She is not even a Canadian. So those are the challenges lots of immigrants have.

How can one overcome the challenges? 

And that’s why I  encourage people who want to start their own businesses because that way they don’t have to combat discrimination in the workplace.

Tell us about your journey into conferences and tourism businesses?

I started Zeal Solutions because I love to travel and the world is like a global village. Now is very important that even if you don’t have the visas to go to all these countries, maybe you just have a Nigerian passport,  there are lots of visa-free countries close to Nigeria that are beautiful so it’s very important to explore because when you travel you have a better mindset and you appreciate other people’s culture. You are more open and there is this sort of education that comes with traveling. I encourage everyone to travel. 

So, I went into the tourism industry because this is something that I’m passionate about; traveling and posting.  I’m into self-development and that was why I had to put conferences in what I do because I want people to get educated while enjoying their traveling. So it’s like an all-in-one package,  you are networking,  you’re getting educated and you’re also exploring the city of Edmonton is very awesome.

Also, I love volunteering as you know I have a foundation through Mercy Foundation and one of the things that we’ve done other than the girl child project is that we have provided school materials to children in struggling schools. We have also done WAEC sponsorship for those that could not afford their WAEC application. Also, we do a lot of volunteering in something that I can say I’m passionate about and I love to help people and I love to see our communities rise

What occupies your spare time?

My favourite hobby is traveling but of course, I can travel all the time. Another thing I love to do is take my daughter out to play. There are lots of parks but I can’t really go to the park when it’s cold or in the winter. We go to indoor parks and we go to the library as well, just like the downtown library. In the city of Edmonton, they have so many beautiful attractions and so many beautiful things for kids and there are just so many artworks. If you are someone who loves creativity and art you’re going to enjoy  Edmonton.

So those are my favourite things I love shopping but I’m also a frugal person. I have to contain and look at how much I spend on necessary shopping but my favourite hobbies over time have been enjoying motherhood and just bonding with my daughter.

We, also have a beautiful attraction, not just downtown we also have the West Edmonton Mall, which I invite everyone to go visit and is one of the largest malls in North America and right here in Edmonton.