“What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger,” is the philosophy that seems to have carried Ada Auala through difficult times to be what she is today, a Service Level Coordinator at Eupua Investment running at the same time her own Hair and Makeup business on a part time basis .
”I was born in exile, and as young children of the liberation we were tough, nothing was too hard,” she explains the “What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger” philosophy. Back in the country at only six, parentless with just a guardian who only knew her parents’ struggle code names, she confesses to being at a loss but easily adapted to whichever situation she found herself in. “It was up to me to find my family and I did that despite my age. That taught me initiative. I’ve survived nine years in a foreign country (Cyprus) filled with racism but my personality kept me going and now I have more Cypriot friends than I have here in Namibia. I’ve watched fellow students being deported but my confidence kept me safe,” Auala relates her unenviable journey.
Born in Lubango, Angola, Auala has ten siblings. She spent her teen years in Okahandja, where she attended primary and secondary school. She left to pursue her tertiary education in Europe and spent most of her 20s on the beautiful Island of Cyprus where she studied at the University of Nicosia and graduated in Computer Science. Auala grew up in a boarding school and was a member of a few school clubs like the debating team and the Learners Representative Council (LRC). She was head girl for two years at her boarding school, which taught her leadership skills. “It taught me how to be independent and at the same time forced me to be mature,” she says
Finding a job in Cyprus was not as easy as Auala imagined. “I was new on the Island and the only black person at my University (mind you they were a bit racists). I managed to make friends. I asked around if anyone knew of a place looking to hire, that’s when I applied for a job as a waitress at the Hilton Hotel in Nicosia, Cyprus. It was tough but I knew why I was there and I sucked it up,” she recalls. Aula worked at three different jobs while at university which taught her hard work and determination. “In a nutshell, my experience in Cyprus was a major challenge but through discipline, determination and unwavering support from my mother, I managed to achieve the objective at the time,” she says.
“I believed in myself, put in extra hours and that job helped me pay my university fees for two years. I would go to work as a class assistant every morning and go to university to attend my evening classes and on weekends I would work as a waitress. So life was very hard at times, but I kept my head up because the goal was to pay my school fees. And my life lesson was hard work, confidence, people skills and consistency. Regardless of what your life circumstances are, if you have a goal, you need to remember that hard work and commitment are key ingredients to obtaining your goal,” says Auala
What keep Auala going are her passions for beauty, her family, working with brides to create cherished memories on their special day, helping women feel beautiful and confident.
Auala believes that if you have a positive outlook on life, confidence, self-acceptance and you believe, God will always make a way in your life, you will never have to struggle or experience unemployment.
She is currently working as a Service Level Coordinator at Eupua Investment and at the same time running her own Hair and Makeup Artist business on a part time basis. “I once read that every great dream begins with a dreamer. If you have the desire to become someone, never stop dreaming and have within you the strength, the patience and mostly importantly, once you find your passion, live your dreams. And on a deeper level, I believe we are all created with our own unique talents, it’s up to you to find your passion. The road to success is not straight, pay attention to whatever inspires you for it is the spirit trying to communicate with you, that’s why it’s called inspiration as in-spirit listen to it, believe it and act on it,” she advises.