1. By Sneha Upadhyay
Cleopatra Magwaro, A Success Story
Stories have always been second nature to Cleo. As a child in Zimbabwe, Cleo fondly remembers listening to stories
from her grandfather, who would recite tales from his ancestors and their ancestors before him. Cleo reminds me me
that oral story-telling is a large part of Zimbabwe's culture and history, and these stories often include a strong moral
aspect to them, to teach children values of right and wrong. Her grandfather shared stories about his parents, where
they came from, what lessons they learned, and the history of his family from generations before. Growing up, Cleo
would repeat these stories to her friends in boarding school, and in addition to passing on the legacy of oral story
telling like so many before her, storytelling became an integral part of who she was becoming.
After finishing her primary education in Zimbabwe, Cleo moved to Australia to attend law school. She received her
degree and moved back to Zimbabwe, where she worked at a magistrate until immigrating to the United States. In
addition to story-telling, writing had always been a passion for Cleo, and it was during her time in Australia when she
began putting her ideas to paper. In 2009, Cleo published a collection of seven short stories, known as A Season’s
Assemblage. The stories, each written emphasizing different African female perspectives, drew upon Cleo's personal
experiences as well as "an African perspective on the world." When asked about the inspiration for her stories, Cleo
discussed how important her stories were to explore the different perspectives of people living in Africa. "I felt a need
to be published, so I could be a different voice that was valid, and represented a large population of the people I grew
up around."
I asked Cleo what brought her to EWI and how she became a part of the training program, and her answer surprised
me, because it was so similar to my own experience. When Cleo came to the United States in 2010, she described
feeling a significant lack of connection to her community. She began searching for different organizations in the D.C.
metro area focusing on women and girls, and came across Empowered Women International [EWI]. The
Entrepreneur Training for Success [ETS] program caught her attention, and Cleo decided to get involved with hopes
that the training would push her to continue her writing, as well as introduce her to networking and outreach
opportunities.
Upon reflecting on her most memorable experience with the ETS training, Cleo recalls being invited to speak about
EWI at the Women's National Democratic Conference. Following the conference she, was approached by the
president of the organization, who invited her to attend the next few meetings. After volunteering her time at number
of events, Cleo was eventually asked to join the board of the National Democratic Club, Chair of the Oral History
Project. Cleo describes this moment as extremely significant because this was an extension of her involvement with
EWI, and emanated from what EWI did for her.
Cleo advises those who are currently seeking to start their own business, or establish themselves on a personal level,
to begin by telling their story. "It is important to be able to tell your story, and the more you tell your story the more
real it becomes. Everyone has dreams, and when you don't have the support network, whether you are an immigrant
or have lived in the D.C. area your whole life, the more you tell your story the more tangible it becomes. The more
you speak about it, the more you speak life into it."