Ghanaian-born Reynold, currently living in Enfield, North London, recently shared his migration experience in an interview with DJ Nyaami on SVTV Africa’s Daily Hustle Worldwide. Before settling in London, he lived in Leeds and has been in the UK for about a year and a half.
Reynold was a trained nurse in Ghana, having studied mental health nursing at Pantang. After completing national service in Somania, he was posted to Akwatia Government Hospital, where he worked for a year before traveling to the UK through a direct NHS recruitment program from Ghana.
“I chose mental health nursing because it doesn’t involve tasks like changing pads. A friend from BA inspired me to take that path. I had to rewrite WASSCE to qualify, and my mother played a major role in encouraging me.”
He revealed that although he passed the required exams and qualified as a nurse in Ghana, his desire to travel abroad was long-standing, dating back to his secondary school days.
“In Ghana, if you’re born into hardship, it continues. But I believed that abroad, I could achieve in a few years what would take a lifetime in Ghana.”
Reynold’s early days in the UK weren’t without challenges. Initially based in Leeds, he later moved to London for better job opportunities, switching his Certificate of Sponsorship (COS) in the process. He now works within the health sector and is building a new life in Enfield.
Despite the better economic prospects, Reynold cautioned that depression is very real abroad, especially due to isolation, workload, and homesickness.
“My wife has also experienced life in the UK and is currently back in Ghana. We’ve come a long way, and I didn’t want to disappoint her, so I stayed focused.”
He also shared his thoughts on marriage, saying:
“I got married abroad. Honestly, if I were still in Ghana, marriage wouldn’t have been a priority for me. But because we were already dating and she was committed, I refused to go back just to marry her — instead, I stayed and worked things out from here.”
Reynold urged Ghanaians not to sell off properties or take huge risks just to travel abroad, especially with the hope of switching visas once they arrive.
“Don’t come on a visitor visa expecting to switch and stay. Don’t sell your properties to start over. Ask yourself—how did our grandparents or the older ‘borgas’ survive the system? Think long-term.”
He also spoke about the deterioration of mental health patients who stop taking their medication after leaving rehab, stressing the importance of continuity in care.
Lastly, he shared concern for his younger brother, who couldn’t further his education and is now struggling with direction in life.
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