Moji Taiwo - I Give because Im Blessed--Im Blessed because I Give

What Others are Saying

W hat have I learnt ? Moji is richer and deeper than I have ever imagined. While I understand this to be a memoir, it is a huge comfort to me as a first-generation immigrant in that this book, Moji was able to clearly show how the challenges we face in integrating into a new environment and culture are nothing but stepping stones and a means to reaffirm our decisions to call Canada home. Moji never allowed her experiences to embitter her to any race or people. I have learned that one or two or many bad experiences does not mean that a people group are all the same or should be painted with the same brush.

I always knew Moji was special but reading this explains why, and now I do understand why she has cheered me on so loudly.

I truly loved reading this book. It is a well-written and engaging page-turner. Moji has opened a door into her life for everyone to see. It is amazing how she could find a way to incorporate her generosity into every aspect of her life, and she continues to do that to this very day. She has always been a giver, leaving a piece of herself in every life she meets. Her legacy lives on in the lives of family and friends alike.

I recommend this book to everyone. To immigrants, it portrays the mindset that triumphs over the negativity that one is bound to experience in settling into a new culture, and to indigenous locals, it brings one face-to-face with the effect that bigotry has on your fellow humans.

Dr. Olubunmi Oyebanji, Family Physician; Calgary, Alberta, Canada

It is a privilege and an honour to be asked to write a brief review of this autobiography of Mrs. Moji Taiwo, a leading Nigerian-Canadian citizen, who is firmly dedicated to serving and impacting society positively. She is a rare combination of altruism, beauty, brain and brawn.

I Give Because Im Blessed, Im Blessed Because I Give is not only a breath of fresh air for any reader, but a validation of the truth found in the late Lucky Dubes song [1] that good things come to those who go out and make them happen. As I read through the manuscript, I was faced with the difficulty of how best to succinctly describe for the reader the experience of a 20-year-old, single, Nigerian lady who dared to migrate to Canada in the late 1970s, confronting headlong the challenges of life in a culturally different and sometimes perceived discriminatory environment, yet making a tremendous success of the process.

The authors experience on arrival in Canada would resonate with a large number of educated individuals who left the African continent for sojourn in other parts of the world, especially Europe and North America. The memoir reiterates the rude awakening most African immigrants have faced on arrival at their destinations. First, the cultural as well as environmental shock of the vast disparity between what they were accustomed to and the adjustment to be made for integration into the host community. Second, the absence of communal sustainment they were used to in Africa, which in Nigerian parlance translates to the phrase you are on your own. While you may find pockets of charity and generosity for the first few days on arrival, this may not be a long-time gesture as everyone is struggling to survive and succeed. As such, your failure or success is down to your individual efforts and ability to surmount all challenges. You become the sole author of your own destiny. Third, the expectation that their qualifications which they believed were equivalent to any in Africa and the western world would get them into the corridors of professional employment are dashed. The reality on arrival when employments are found being as cleaners or security guards becomes a huge shock. As the author succinctly put it, I had successfully held an office job. Here, I was trading my expertise and experience for a cleaning job.

Beyond the story of focus, courage, determination, perseverance, and success as an immigrant in Canada that are replete in the memoir, the author imparts a number of life skills that could serve as a foundation for success. For example, referencing her thirty-eight-years of marriage to Aderinola Taiwo, it can be deduced that a happy marriage does not depend on either how rich the parties are or how long the courtship between a man and a woman is, but on how sincere, committed, and supportive they are of each others aspirations. Furthermore, throughout the memoir, it becomes evident that the authors progress in gradually building a successful career in Canada as well as a happy home hinged on the consistency to re-assess, re-evaluate, and re-adjust her modalities to ensure the goals she and her husband had set themselves became reality. In essence, once they set their goals, they constantly re-adjusted the sails of their ship as the weather dictated to ensure that they arrived successfully at the port of their destination.

I recommend this autobiography to:

1. Prospective immigrants as it enables them to birth their expectations in a new country in reality;
2. Existing immigrants as the story of Mojis struggles and achievements may resonate with some people, whilst encouraging those immigrants still seeking to reach their goals that they will make it if they do not give up;
3. The general public, particularly non-immigrant Canadians for an understanding of what it means to be an immigrant: the discouragements and strength of character that goes with breaking through human barriers in a challenging environment;
4. Canadian policy makers towards identifying means and processes that enhance the arrival and existential experiences of immigrants in Canada.

This memoir is about focus, courage, and success in a new land. In it, I have found a practical guide for my mentees on building a career using project management tools and processes.

Conclusively, I will describe the author, Moji Taiwo with these words: daring, fearless, focused, courageous, dedicated, persevering, successful, and contented.

Olukunle Ojeleye, PhD; Calgary, Alberta, Canada

Im Blessed is the story of Moji, the story of an independent woman who emigrated from Lagos, Nigeria, to Calgary, Canada, in the seventies, a time when Southern Alberta was still a very homogeneous society. The book tells of the cultural shock she faced in terms of climate, language, and social norms, of her encounters with both racism and welcome, and of her determination to always forge ahead. Moji meets Derin soon after she arrives in Calgary, and together, they endure the difficulties of concurrently working, raising a family, and going to school. The narration is funny and poignant at the same time, and embeds you, the reader, right with her as she goes through lifes experiences in her adopted country of Canada.

This book is a really good read for anyone who wants to know what its like to be a new immigrant that grows into a contributing citizen a citizen with a strongly developed sense of service.

Carlton Osakwe, PHD; Mount Royal University; Calgary, Alberta, Canada

I Give Because Im Blessed, Im Blessed Because I Give was very interesting. It shows the need to make tough decisions in order to forge ahead in life.

In her story, Moji needed to get out of her first job despite not having any hope of getting a new job. That was a good decision because she had to let go of what she had in order to get new opportunities.