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My name is Matipa and I am 11 years old.
This is my story . . .
I was born and raised in England, United Kingdom. In year 3 and 4 I went through a phase of being bullied by other students because of my skin colour.
I remember at one point when I was in school a certain student said to me ‘You have black skin, and you should be ashamed of that skin colour’.
These words made me feel belittled and worthless.
My strong sense of identity helped me through that time and my mother intervened and advocated for me to get adequate support at the school during that time.
My mother (Bren Mupa) engraved in me from a young age that being black is being beautiful, and usually when people are rude to you it’s not your fault but them projecting their own issues.
After all like I always say ‘the colour of my skin makes up my identity and the two cannot be separated’
I eventually changed schools and I am currently going to one of the best schools in the country.
The headmaster and the teachers have given me a lot of support.
I also have an understanding that even though I am the first generation from my family to be born and raised in England, my roots are still on Africa, Zimbabwe.
I have travelled around Zimbabwe from a young age. At the age of six, my mother took me to Victoria Falls, Great Zimbabwe and Chinhoyi caves. I also had the privilege of visiting a few countries because of the love I have for travel and this exposed me to various cultures and different way of life.
I have been to Spain, France, Disney Florida in the USA, Egypt and South Africa
Zimbabwe is on top of the list as my favourite country.
I might appear biased but of course I am. It is my home and I love the food too. I enjoy the fact that I can pick some of our local fruits such as mangoes, masawu and nyi from my grandmother’s garden. Derere is my favourite food from Zimbabwe.
My aspiration is to be an actor.
I will achieve this because if you strongly want something and work hard towards it with the right support nothing is impossible.
My mother is giving me a lot of support and she has always done, when I was five years old.
I used to attend stage coaching and this helped build my stage confidence.
I know I will inspire other young children my age.
My inspiration is Shuru from Black panther, it was played by Leticia Wright a Guyanese black British actress, I even dressed like her for my nineth birthday.
Willow Smith inspires me too because she is proud of who is, she is not scared to express herself and Jennifer Hudgens because she is a great actor in the Disney industry.
When I get my big break in the film industry, please refer back to this article.
I love netball, hockey and swimming.
By the way I learn at Carmel School
Online Reporter