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Talent Chioma Mundy-Castle
Chioma was born into the affluent Oparaji family of high status, the last of nine children and the only girl. She should have been assured of a comfortable and loving upbringing surrounded by the e...view moreChioma was born into the affluent Oparaji family of high status, the last of nine children and the only girl. She should have been assured of a comfortable and loving upbringing surrounded by the extended family of cousins, aunts, uncles and grandparents, traditionally living together in the family compound in the village of Ezuhu Nguru, Eastern Nigeria. Instead, cruelly orphaned and being much younger than her brothers, she existed at subsistence level throughout the early years of her childhood eventually escaping from the status of child witch at the age of 13 to take part in the Biafran War. Subsequently she returned to the struggle for survival in post-war Biafra and with a growing family of her own was, at the age of 21 ready to transform her life.
In 1986 she decided to move her family to England which she considered the ideal place to further her lifestyle and the education of her 5 children. This was against the strong advice of her husband. In some ways this was a good idea and in others it was a disaster and she was repeatedly thrown back into the struggles of her past. The worst was the ending of the marriage to her golden man – he couldn’t face London and returned to his other love, Africa. She now lives in Brixton, London and this year has been chosen as a London Ambassador for the 2012 Olympic Games. She has much more to give, tirelessly working for her charity ‘Ladies of Substance’, an organisation dedicated to helping black families lost in the turbulence of inner city London with its racial undertones and gang culture.view less