Lumjana Shehu shares her experience growing up as an Albanian refugee and having her family repeatedly targeted by scammers and shysters. She recounts stories of crossing borders as a kid by methods ranging from fake passports, to running across fields in the middle of the night, to hiding in the back of container trucks. Lumjana reflects on the precarity of coming of age as an undocumented immigrant in both the U.S. and Canada, and the crushing experience of getting denied refugee status in Canada. She opens up about the financial and emotional devastation on her family when her father got arrested and sent to immigration prison, and her family’s eventual deportation to Albania. Lumjana then takes us on her journey of re-acclimation and eventually falling back in love with Albania. She talks about her experience at the first digital nomad conference in Tirana, her role as the Balkan Lead for the MaNaBu movement, and her passion for empowering Albanian youth to create their own destiny through remote work. Lumjana reflects on what travel means to her today, how her Albanian identity has evolved over the years, how she thinks about the concept of “home”, and how she feels deeply connected to refugees from Syria and other countries. FULL SHOW NOTES AVAILABLE AT: www.TheMaverickShow.com
Episode #240: Growing Up as a Refugee, Becoming the Balkan Project Lead for the MaNaBu Movement, and Empowering Albanian Youth to Work Remotely with Lumjana Shehu
Episode Summary
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About the Guest
Lumjana Shehu
Lumjana Shehu is the Balkan project lead for the MaNaBu Movement which is empowering children to become advocates of a kinder, more inclusive, and sustainable future. She is also the Marketing & Communication Manager of TUMO in Tirana, Albania—a tech education center that puts teens in charge of their own learning. Having spent her childhood moving around as an Albanian refugee from Greece to Canada to the U.S., she is now back in Albania and is passionate about empowering Albanian youth with remote work skills, certifications, and opportunities to find location-independent work globally.
What You'll Learn
- The Experience and Impact of Growing Up as a Refugee
- How to Empower Children with Confidence, Self-Learning and Critical Thinking Skills
- How to Empower Young Adults with Remote Work Skills to Opportunities to find Location-Independent Work Globally
Links From the Episode
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LEARN MORE ABOUT THE MaNaBu MOVEMENT
LEARN ABOUT JOINING A “REMOTE YEAR” PROGRAM TO WORK AND TRAVEL WITH OTHER LOCATION-INDEPENDENT PROFESSIONALS (Get a $100 Credit for Your First Remote Year Program)
Join the VIRTUAL EXCELLENCE ACADEMY and Learn How to Become a Remote Freelancer
Join the “5 Day VA Challenge”
Get the Free “Beginner’s Guide to Becoming a Virtual Assistant”
Learn “What is a Virtual Assistant and How Can You Become One?”
#1 BOOK THAT LUMJANA RECOMMENDS
#1 PERSON WITH WHOM LUMJANA WANTS TO HAVE DINNER
TOP 3 TRAVEL DESTINATIONS
TOP 3 BUCKETLIST DESTINATIONS
LOCATIONS WHERE THE INTERVIEW TOOK PLACE
WINE CONSUMED IN THIS EPISODE
OTHER MAVERICK SHOW PODCAST EPISODES MENTIONED
OTHER PLACES MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE
- Armenia
- Barcelona
- Berlin
- Canada
- Chicago
- Greece
- London
- Los Angeles
- Montana
- Paris
- Shala River
- Toronto
- USA
CONTACT LUMJANA
Time Stamped Show Notes
**Click the time stamp to jump directly to that point in the episode.
[4:14] What Lumjana loves about Albania
[5:48] Becoming an Albanian Refugee
[7:51] Getting Scammed Out of a Job in Canada
[8:50] Crossing the Canadian Border on Fake Passports
[12:34] Living in Canada as an Albanian Refugee
[14:26] Getting Denied Refugee Status in Canada
[17:00] Crossing the U.S. Border without Passports
[19:50] Living Undocumented in Chicago
[21:44] Crossing the Canadian Border in a Compartment of a Container Truck
[23:48] Her Dad’s Arrest For Being Undocumented in Canada
[26:37] Being Deported to Albania
[28:28] Acclimating and Falling in Love with Albania
[30:14] Empowering Albanian Youth Through Self-Learning and Critical Thinking
[32:07] Hosting the First Digital Nomad Festival in Tirana, Albania
[33:46] Empowering Albanian Youth Through Remote Work
[35:55] Partnering with Hannah Dixon of Digital Nomad Kit
[37:11] How to Travel the World with Carry On Luggage Only
[38:38] The Value for Albanians of Interacting with Digital Nomads in Tirana
[40:56] What Travel Means to Lumjana
[42:15] How Lumjana’s Albanian Identity has evolved
[43:34] What the concept of “home” means to Lumjana
[44:31] How Lumjana Relates to Other Refugees Today
[45:59] How to Support Lumjana’s Projects in Albania
[47:30] The Lightning Round
[50:32] Follow and Connect with Lumjana
