Its not where you come from, but where you are going
By Thembi Bheka
Thembi moved to Canada from Zimbabwe in 2001 as a single mother with five dollars in her pocket. She stayed at the YMCA for 30 days until she got a government grant of $500 and was able to rent an apartment in Montreal. Having seen how difficult it was to be a woman, as well as a young and a powerless single mother back home, she made a pact that she would work hard and help show the poor teenage single mothers that life could be better without an abusive partner.
10 months later, Thembi enrolled in nursing school and started working towards a nursing career. Although she managed to help a few mothers, the limited salary in nursing was not sufficient enough to achieve her goals of helping as many women as she could, while still spending enough time with her children.
In 2008, she read Robert T. Kiyosaki s book Rich Dad, Poor Dad: What the Rich Teach Their Kids About Money–That the Poor and the Middle Class Do Not!. It was the book that changed how she thought. Immediately after that, she read the book 51 Success Stories from Canadian Real Estate Investors by .
After finding out about REIN, Thembi got stuck deciding whether to educate herself or pay down some debt from school. She chose the latter. She joined REIN with a goal of buying one property a year until she reached a stage where she wouldn’t have to work full-time and would have a secure retirement plan.
Thembi attended the first ACRE event in August 2008 where told everyone to write a personal Belize about where they would want to be in five years. Even though she loved Alberta, the winters were very rough on her and her asthmatic daughter. So in her personal Belize, Thembi wrote that she would like to move to a warmer place and have more time to spend with her children. She also would like to help more women in Zimbabwe whose lives could be improved by starting a small project.
In July 2013, Thembi moved to the Okanagan and now works casually at the hospital, scheduling her own hours when she wants to. As Thembi put it, For me it wasn’t about getting many properties, but it was about getting the financial freedom to help the powerless women in need. Her portfolio, now worth over two million dollars, offers her a secure retirement package.
Those achievements didn’t come smoothly Thembi says. She has had tenants move out in the middle of the night. One time she tried to be a plumber and flooded the whole floor. In all this, she learned the importance of hiring experts like a plumber in Fallbrook, and others similar to it, and continually educating yourself. She has since hired a property manager who takes care of everything and now she concentrates on helping others get better returns or get into homeownership (which is an inbuilt characteristic for her).
Thembi continued to educate herself along the way, and after re-listening to the ACRE audios, she heard someone mention that If you have the ability to make more money and donate to charity, you are selfish if you are not doing it . Those words just hit the nail on the head for her. She enrolled in a quick turn strategies event to learn how to increase cash flow and make more money for her charities.
Today, her company –Infinity Housing Solutions – provides endless opportunities for those who aren’t able to buy or sell their home through the traditional ways. Investors get better returns whilst helping others get into homeownership. The company donates a significant percentage of all net proceeds to charity.
So far she has helped many Zimbabwean and Canadian women become independent and paid for children s school fees. She has also managed to help women start some projects in remote areas of Zimbabwe. Thembi recently started another project in Binga where they have built a borehole for the community and are raising money for an irrigation system. This project has changed many people s lives. They don t have to walk 10km just to fetch drinking water. It is not about how much money you make but how many people you significantly impact every day.
I wish I could do more. Looking back on where I came from, I will forever be grateful to Canadians for welcoming me and making me be part of their beautiful country. I hope to help other immigrants as well and together we can build a stronger Canada and help others everywhere in the world.
Back in Canada Thembi has partnered with immigrant associations and, together with her mortgage broker, she recently presented her first free seminar in Edmonton to new immigrants on how to buy a home. Even though this was a free seminar, donations were encouraged for entrance, and the money donated was divided equally between her Binga project and Habitat for Humanity.
Thembi is still actively involved in assisting immigrants in establishing themselves in a new country. She also volunteers with Kelowna Community Resources, a government program for immigrants. Furthermore, there are many private agencies that assist immigrants in relocating to another country by moving their belongings. In fact, many people who get a job in a new country relocate and move their possessions using international movers in NYC or wherever they are going.
I am so grateful to REIN for teaching me to be selfless and help change other people s lives, the same way Canada changed mine.
Thembi also values the power of networking with likeminded people because she continually learns and helps others as well. I enjoy talking to new REIN members or ACRE attendees who are wondering if they would ever be able to buy that extra property. When I share my story, it makes most of them realise how achievable it is. If someone like me who started with five dollars in a new country and no family can do it, I believe anyone can do it. The key is focusing on why real estate, what it can provide you with, and how much it can change someone s life from having no food on the table to being able to self-sufficiently feed your children. Be it in remote poor countries or right here in Canada. Start with your why
Thembi Bheka is a real estate investor, mentor and a member of the prestigious REIN. She is the founder of Infinity Housing Solutions, a rent to own company that provides high returns for investors, whilst affording everyone an opportunity to become a homeowner. Her passion lies in giving back to the community through charity work, and conducting free real estate seminars to immigrants. She can be reached at 587-988-3994 or follow her on Twitter @masge.
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