From Egypt to Marystown: Married dentists detail building their dreams together

A love of dentistry is at the centre of this love story, which propelled a couple in their 30s from Egpyt to pursue adventure and a bigger dream in Canada — one that saw them ultimately lay down roots in Marystown, Newfoundland. 

Mohamed Gaber Esmail and Esraa Khaled were born in the city of Alexandria, on the Mediterranean Sea in Egypt. They met at the faculty of dentistry at Alexandria University. They were engaged one year later, got married after graduation, and had their first child. 

"We have done everything together. We have built our dreams and implemented them together," said Khaled. 

But before they made the move, life was good and the couple were thriving. They were among the founders of the Egyptian Dental Implant Society, and Khaled was even the organization's vice-president. Esmail had his own clinic in the city where they were both born and worked in a large hospital two days a week in Cairo. 

So why emigrate to Canada? Neither of their families could make sense of it. 

"I used to work long hours, yes, good income, but I was looking for a different life and a better future for my daughters, so I chose the adventure of coming to Canada," said Esmail. 

"Every step in this decision was a challenge. Whenever we pass a challenge, we move on to the next difficult challenge."

And there were definitely challenges, including immigrating through the Express Entry Program and getting the scores needed for the English language courses, which took multiple tries.

But they leaned on each other for support during what would be busy years ahead as they worked to pass Canadian dentistry exams.

The couple came to Canada with their two children, Hala and Layan, in March 2018.

They settled for the first two years in Mississauga, Ont.

"I had friends here and I knew very well the challenges of the first years of immigration, the most important of which is the dental equation, and I registered in the equation from my first day in Canada," said Esmail.

He was studying up to 17 hours a day, while juggling several jobs, including driving for Uber, working in a restaurant and moving furniture.

"It was a difficult period for us as a family. We had to work to achieve our dream and also bear the expenses of life, and it required us to sell most of my property in Egypt." That equated to about $90,000, according to Khaled.