Wilma André, who holds three degrees from foreign universities in South Africa and Brazil, was born in Luanda in 1985 and already knew Coimbra from her previous professional experience.
She was around 25 years old when she arrived with her first child, just three months old, to complete a two-and-a-half-year internship at the technology company Critical Software, with a scholarship from the Angolan Ministry of Natural Resources, Oil and Gas.
"I came to pursue my specialization in Computer Engineering. It was a turning point in my life. It's a joy to see that I was able to overcome certain fears," Wilma André told the Lusa news agency.
In her opinion, "the Portuguese are a very welcoming people."
This time, as a young woman, she had the support of her parents for a few weeks, and it was also in the city of Mondego that she later sought specialized medical treatment.
She eventually settled in Coimbra, where her two children, aged 14 and 11, are studying.
"The relationship between the Portuguese and Angolans is one of sisterhood. As sister peoples, it's a relationship of care and cooperation," she argued.
Meanwhile, since her father has passed away in Angola, her mother now lives with her three children, while her husband, still in the African country, plans to join the family.
In Luanda, Wilma André, now 40, worked for a while at Banco Atlântico (BA), first as a teller and then as a senior manager.
"It was a beautiful experience that taught me to be the woman I've become today," she said.
This "girl full of expectations," however, "didn't even know how to count Angolan money."
"I learned everything from scratch, because I didn't grow up in Angola," she recalled, adding that she was later invited to "embrace a new challenge" at BA, in the capital's new Financial City.
"I'm not a woman to say no to anything," she congratulated herself, noting that she had taken on "another challenge, working more closely with the bank's top leaders."
She was becoming "addicted to work," which caused her extreme exhaustion, with evidence of burnout and other health problems.
"I was the one who had to create emotional stability to be able to live with serenity," she said, explaining that, 15 years later, in 2022, she returned to Coimbra for treatment.
She opened two self-service laundries in the city and runs them 365 days a year.
"I'm here to help others, regardless of whether they're in Angola or Portugal. If I can create jobs, it makes all the difference," she declared.
In Portugal, among other training, she deepened her knowledge of strategic management with an MBA from the Faculty of Economics of the University of Coimbra (FEUC) and two master's degrees, one in management, also from FEUC, and another in human resources management from the European University.
"Currently, I'm a businesswoman and an entrepreneur, all at the same time, now in the final research phase of my master's degree and already with new projects," she emphasized.
Acknowledging that she's not an immigrant with the average profile of most of her compatriots, she emphasized that she is contributing to the country's economy.
When asked by Lusa about the new legal restrictions on immigrants' stay in Portugal, she said that the issue "concerns her greatly" and that "each case is different."
"It's important to legalize those who are working and ensure that everyone does their job well. Not legalizing them creates outrage," she warned.
For Wilma André, who holds several higher education degrees, there are people who "are here to help the country grow and who feel hurt by some less than positive comments."
In South Africa, she earned degrees in Metallurgical Engineering and Computer Engineering, followed by a degree in Business Administration in Brazil.
"Wilma is a living example of how valuable education is when it translates into personal development and innovation, allowing students to strengthen their convictions that they can play a role in society," FEUC professor Teresa Carla Trigo Oliveira, who is supervising the master's thesis, told Lusa.
In Portugal, the Angolan citizen has just created Will Natura Beauty, a cosmetics brand based on natural products, whose presentation took place Saturday in the Lisbon region.
