How Chenai Kadungure empowers Black Canadians in the medical field

Credit to Author: Baisakhi Roy| Date: Thu, 29 Aug 2024 02:35:17 +0000

Zimbabwean-born equity advocate and motivational speaker Chenai Kadungure left her managerial job in South Africa to pursue her master’s in the U.S. on a Rotary scholarship. She then moved to Canada in 2018.

“That ten-month period after I immigrated to Canada was the most difficult phase of my life. It was a blow to my self-confidence and self-worth,” she recalls.

She endured gruelling survival jobs, like working for a call centre and exhausting door-to-door fundraising jobs to pay the bills.

“I wondered at that time, ‘What have I done? Why did I move here?’” she says.

Encouraged by her cousin, she persisted and approached Cuso International, a Canadian international development organization that pairs global volunteers with international development projects. That hands-on experience made all the difference. As a program management advisor with Care Canada, Kadungure supported the coordination and implementation of projects in Malawi.

She says that having that Canadian employer made a big difference.  When she came back from her Africa stint, she was getting an average of 13 job interviews a month.

The entire experience left Kadungure humbled, and she resolved to work towards creating opportunities for newcomers, especially racialized immigrants in Canada.

In her current role as executive director of the Black Physicians’ Association of Ontario (BPAO), a non-profit organization focused on the equitable representation of Black people in medicine, she does exactly that. The organization, through its community outreach and mentorship work, supports more than 400 medical professionals in Ontario, that includes newcomers.

Their Community Health Centre Education Program for Black Medical Students (CHCE), which through their nine-week paid summer program, enables Black medical students to gain valuable experience at Community Health Centres (CHCs) that predominantly serve Black patients. Earlier this year, the BPAO launched a remote hub in London, Ontario  where doctors and medical students discuss pressing medical issues affecting the community and the unique needs of the Black community.

“We have programs for every stage of the medical journey — from scholarships for medical students, to mentorship and training events,” she says.” she says.

Kadungure is currently writing a book and advising a global network connected to the United Nations among other projects, but her main priority is working towards retaining immigrant talent in Canada.

“One of the things I’ve learned is that Canada, as a country, our economy, doesn’t represent the talent we actually have,” says Kadungure. “If we could have a better, more efficient system in how we assist immigrants to optimize their potential in Canada and have more people talking to each other about better implementation of settlement projects and services, I think we will see better results.”

Her top tip to newcomers wishing to make Canada their home is to harness the power of networking and strategic volunteering at a place where there might be a potential to get hired permanently.

“I always tell newcomers that your net worth is your network. So, if you don’t know anyone in Canada, especially in your sector, you are set up to fail, because no stranger is going to take a chance on you.” she notes.  “Referrals will always, always be more important than just an application online.”

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