Magda Wierzycka grew up in Poland with her parents, sister, and Holocaust survivor grandmother until they moved to South Africa in 1982 where her parents were forced to dig ditches for a living.
Wierzycka grew up in Jastrzebie-Zdroj, Poland where she shared a 2 bedroom flat with her sister, brother, grandmother and parents who were medical doctors. Wierzycka's Jewish grandmother was a Holocaust survivor. Her family moved to South Africa in 1983 when she was just thirteen years old, with only R500 in their bank account. Her parents were forced to dig ditches to earn a living. 
