Dr Elsa Licumba, author of Freedom To Belong, migrant wellbeing coach and all round amazing woman is truly helping migrants in Australia with belonging, (not integrating!) which she explains in the interview. She is a migrant from Africa, and when she arrived she found Australia to be a little bit bewildering and unusual. Elsa believes that one of the biggest challenges migrants face when they arrive in a new country is blending cultures, so she is passionate about assisting other migrants to attain a 'belonging' mindset and redefine their cultural identity and sense of belonging while living in a new country.

When Elsa first arrived from Mozambique she was homesick all the time, comparing and constantly criticizing the values of her host land because it was all so unfamiliar. She was suffering from culture shock! Having grown up in a close family, and studied in Mozambique, she had assumed that studying in Australia would be a great opportunity and filled with joy and happiness. But it didn't turn out to be quite like that.

Her sense of identity and sense of belonging were significantly bruised and she later discovered that belonging is not about a place or geographic location- it's a mindset. This interview with Elsa covers some pretty deep subject matter and yet it's filled with laughter. I encourage you to listen and be inspired by this wonderful women!

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