General

My name is Stella. I am currently working as Program and Policy Officer at the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care.  Before coming to Canada, I was Senior Relationship Manager at Barclays Bank in Mauritius, a beautiful island in the Indian Ocean, near the east coast of Africa. My family, friends and colleagues see me as a very organized person. It is true that I like being organized and defining my priorities in life because the possibilities are endless.  But often we cannot control what can happen and the decision what we make may or may not be good.

I came to Canada a year ago. I believe that my husband and I made the right decision, especially for our children. We also visited Australia and opted for Canada because we saw that the price of food, which is our priority, is more affordable in Canada and most importantly, my son wanted to come to study in Canada.

My first priority, after my wedding and the birth of my son, was to own a house in Mauritius. I remember that my salary and that of my husband’s only allowed us to buy a small portion of land and to start the house construction.  I wanted to start the construction work anyway while thinking that the house would have no windows or doors. As expected, when the work arrived at the building of the walls, we no longer had the money to continue.  Thanks to God, I had a promotion at my work and I was able to finish the house including a beautiful garden.

Then my other two main priorities were to finish my master's degree in Finance and Banking and to have a second child.  I devoted a lot to my career, my studies and the time was flying by. My son used to tell me he was poor as he did have neither a brother nor a sister.  I had my first daughter ten years after the birth of my son.  I remember that on my daughter's birth, when everyone was congratulating my husband and I, my son was proudly announcing that he had become a brother.  He became a brother for the second time 4 years later.  So, my son who wanted a brother or sister had two sisters and he is not poor anymore!  Now he tells me he does not want to get married, because it's too much work.

As for my master's degree, I graduated 40 days after the birth of my first daughter.  I was lucky to be able to bring her to the graduation ceremony and take a photo with her. When I had to make a presentation for my dissertation, I was 8 months pregnant.  I was so big that that the assessors were worried and asked me when I was due to give birth.  As I told them it could happen anytime, my presentation went very well.  I did not have difficult questions to answer and I got my master's degree.

Then my big priority was coming to Canada. Leaving everything after having worked so hard, leaving our beautiful home, my 20 year career at the bank, family, friends and especially my mom and my brothers was not easy.

To start over again and rebuild a new life does not scare me.  I ask myself a lot of questions every day and continue to make decisions, good or bad, the future will tell and I trust the future.  Especially, when my son was accepted to the University of Toronto, when I hear my daughter saying that she prefers school in Canada and loves it and when I see the youngest child growing up speaking English.

My priority among many priorities for the moment is to communicate better. I have always loved learning and improving.  I am lucky to have facilities such as LINC Home Study program to enable me to improve myself whilst working and having small kids to take care of in the  comfort of my home.