Successful Refugees and Immigrants Leading the Way, Part 18 of a Multi-part Series: Zimbabwean Actress Chipo Chung

She is an actress who trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA) in London, United Kingdom and graduated from Yale University in the United States. She has had an excellent acting career on stage, television, and the big screen. You might have seen her in various television roles such as on the popular British science fiction series “Doctor Who,” and in the 2015 TV series “A.D. The Bible Continues.” She was also selected as one of the BBC’s 100 Most Fascinating Women of 2013.

Ms. Chipo Chung was born as a refugee in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania in 1977. In the year 2015, her captivating character in the TV series “A.D. The Bible Continues” was Saint Mary Magdalene, a prominent disciple of Lord Jesus Christ. This series was widely praised for its cast of international and multi-racial actors.

Being of an unusual mixed race, where she isn’t fair like many Chinese or very dark like some Africans, Ms. Chung said that she failed to get some roles because of the way she looked or even her skin tone. However, as she developed this awareness, she became an activist supporting The Act for Change Campaign. Founded by British actor Danny Lee Wynter, the campaign is a movement to increase diversity in Britain’s live and recorded arts.

Chipo Chung also co-founded a UK-based charity of her own with British actor Nick Reding. S.A.F.E KENYA focuses on HIV/AIDS education and Female Genital Cutting (FGC) Abandonment, among other areas. Furthermore, Ms. Chung helped launch S.A.F.E. Maa in order to intervene in the barbaric ritual of female genital mutilation among a community of the Maasai people in southwestern Kenya. The project uses traditional songs and poems to change the culture in the community towards accepting alternative, non-harmful rites of passage. Chipo Chung is also active with the international charity Peace Direct in its support of Envision Zimbabwe Women’s Trust (EZWT). Ms. Chung said, “My mission is to help the arts to enact positive social change. It is my belief that true social change happens through culture, the creative communication of ideas, inspiration and vision – this is how hearts and minds are changed.”