By Koviao Matuzee
From a village girl who once walked long distances to school and struggled to afford life’s basic necessities to a successful corporate professional, mother, mentor and author, Monika Tangeni-Omua Emvula Shaduka’s journey is one of resilience, faith and transformation. Her newly launched book, A Village Girl with a Mighty God, chronicles the difficult seasons, personal battles, career milestones and spiritual growth that shaped her life, while offering hope to anyone navigating their own season of uncertainty. In this interview, Monika reflects on the experiences behind the book, the people who helped shape her journey and the lessons she hopes readers will carry with them.
Q: Tell us a little bit about yourself ?
A: I am a mother, a wife, a Geologist, now author but a philanthropist at heart, I am the last born of my mother and I have a big brother.
Q: “A Village Girl with a Mighty God” is more than a title, it reflects on where you came from and where you are today. When you look at the girl you once were, what do you think she would say if she could see the woman you have become?
A: The younger me had so many dreams, but I also know she would be very proud of the woman I have become because most of those dreams I was able to tick them off.
Q: You have spoken about walking long distances to school, struggling to afford basic necessities, and sometimes returning home without even enough money for lotion or sanitary products. How did those difficult experiences shape the woman you eventually became?
A: During that season I learned to endure quietly and books and education became my refuge. Those experiences taught me empathy and kindness, I now give back because I know how it feels to not have.
Q: Was there ever a moment during those difficult years when you genuinely wondered whether you would make it out of that life? What kept you going?
A: Of course I had experienced really lowest seasons in my life where I thought I would possibly not make it out of them but even on those moments my faith never wavered, Jeremiah 29:11 “For I know the plans I have for you, plans not to destroy you but to give you hope and a future ” also another verse in Romans 8:28 that reminds me that until it’s good it means God is not done with it / with you yet “All things work together for good to all those who believe in God” God kept me going because I know his words and promises are true.
Q: You describe a particularly difficult season when career rejections and challenges in your marriage happen at the same time. What did that season teach you about the strength that success could never have taught you?
A: It was a lowest season of my life, a convergence; this season asked me to draw strength from inside of me that I didn’t know I had, again this time I took refuge in God. I was heartbroken because I chose to be a Geologist and chose to be married, I guess Queen Elizabeth was right when she said, “Grief is the price we pay for love.”
Q: You have said that sometimes “our deepest wounds could be the source of somebody’s healing.” What wounds from your own journey do you hope will help heal someone else through this book?
A: My story has so many wounds and scars that I have openly shared, from childhood trauma of losing my mom to my Father not wanting to be the Father I needed, even as I get into adulthood I faced so many painful experiences it is up to the reader to relate to any part of my story but my prayers are that my story will remind them of their own strengths and Gods faithfulness in every season they find themselves in.
Q: What does “becoming” mean to you now? Is becoming about reaching a destination, or learning to continually grow through every season of life?
A: I do not think there is something as “arrival ” in the journey of becoming, it is a continuous process, and we need to keep learning and open to adjustments in our lives as each season comes.
Q: Your book speaks strongly about a woman’s identity, not being dependent on a relationship. What would you say to young wom- en who have been taught to measure their worth through marriage, relationships or what others think of them?
A: They need to re-learn that a woman’s worth, joy, and identity can not be outsourced to a relationship; they have to be cultivated from within. I also write honestly about the imbalance of a generation that empowered women in theory but did not prepare men for empowered women in practice. Real progress; means both sides learning to walk together, not one leaning on the other until both collapse.
Q: You describe this book as the first of a three- part series. What part of your story have you deliberately left for the next two books, and why?
A: I think it is unfair to speak about the journey of becoming without telling the people what really contribute to that journey, in terms of principles and what one needs to do to at least get closer to what; God has called them to be, I feel I owe my readers that part and that is the part I will focus on in the next second series, the third series will be a product of the 2nd one so I will not divulge anything about it yet.
Q: What does success mean to you today? Has your definition of success changed from when you were that young woman trying to build a corporate career?
A: Success to me means making a positive difference while growing into the best version of myself? It is not about money, tittles or status, I would also say success looks different on everyone for one person, it may be building a career for another it may be raising a healthy family, finishing school or overcoming hardship in short to me success is about achieving goals that matters to you and using your abilities in a way to benefit both yourself and others.
Q: What did poverty teach you that privilege never could?
A: Poverty taught me resilience, gratitude and empathy, lessons that privilege may make it easier to overlook.
Q: What part of your journey was the hardest to write about, and why?
A: My hostel life, I found myself shedding tears from a chapter that I thought I have dealt with. As I penned it down, it also healed me, and I am so glad I revisited it once more.
Q: When did you stop seeing yourself as “just a village girl” and start seeing yourself as someone capable of changing the lives of others?
A: It all started with subtle changes, when people came to me even those I saw in more senior positions came to me for guidance I knew No longer just a village girl, I started an informal coaching program and when people I coached for interviews came back with positive feedback o knew I am destined for changing lives and that for me was enough to validate my existence.
Q: What would you say to the woman who is currently ashamed of where she comes from? If your younger self could walk into a room today and see everyone celebrating your book, what would you want her to know?
A: I encourage people to celebrate their roots no matter how small or humble your beginnings were, you can only know the direction of your tomorrow by honoring your yesterday, without that you are most likely to get lost in the world but your roots keep you grounded.
Q: Finally, if you had to describe the message of your life in one sentence, not the book, but your life; What would you want that sentence to be?
A: “I no longer feared the darkness once I knew the phoenix in me would rise from the Ashes” – William C Hannan
