Maame Nzema, a Ghanaian woman based in the United Kingdom, recently shared her life journey on SVTV Africa’s Daily Hustle Worldwide Show with DJ Nyaami.
According to her, her husband first took her to Italy before they later moved to the UK in 2016. “The day I got my visa, he immediately bought me a ticket to travel abroad,” she recalled.
Before leaving Ghana, Maame lived at Nungua Addogono where she worked as a hairdresser under her sister, Diana. After getting married, she stayed in Nungua before moving in with her in-laws at Spintex until she finally traveled abroad. She also had a hair salon in Tema, where she sold clothes—both new and second-hand. She frequently traveled to China to buy and ship goods home, describing China as her “dream country” because of the huge business opportunities there.
While reflecting on her journey, she advised young women to focus on building financial stability before childbirth. She shared that she met her Italian husband in Ghana, and after marriage, he supported her to travel.
Life in Italy, however, wasn’t easy. She recalled moments of depression, especially when she couldn’t even buy salt without her husband being around. Eventually, they moved to the UK, where she secured her first job. “The day I earned my first salary of £180, I cried while buying groceries,” she said.
Today, Maame braids hair for Ghanaians, Jamaicans, Nigerians, and other Africans in the UK. She also sells acheke, fried fish, and pear. Despite the hustle, she revealed that the money she makes from braiding is not as lucrative as people back home assume. “I thought after three years I could build a house in Ghana, but it wasn’t like that,” she explained.
Touching on marriage, she noted that many relationships abroad collapse because of benefits and external influences. She and her husband, however, do not depend on benefits and have managed to stay stable. She stressed the importance of trust, adding that they also avoided opening a joint account to prevent conflicts.
Raising children abroad, she admitted, is tough, as children are groomed differently compared to Ghana. Still, she is grateful to God for her journey and cautions others: “Be careful of bad influences abroad and always respect the men who support you to travel.”
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