Atom, Ghanaian Teacher in South West London, Shares His Journey Abroad and Lessons on Migration on Svtv Africa’s Daily Hustle Worldwide Show With DJ Nyaami..
Atom, a Ghanaian currently based in South West London, recounted his migration struggles and experiences in an interview with DJ Nyaami on SVTV Africa’s Daily Hustle Worldwide.
He revealed that his desire to travel began as far back as 2011, but between 2011 and 2019, he lost large sums of money to “connection men.” Even in 2022, he was scammed again. “The money I wasted on connection men before finally coming abroad could have built a five-bedroom storey building in Ghana,” he said.
Atom stressed that migrating abroad does not require huge sums if one has the right documents and information. “It shouldn’t cost you more than GHC 30,000 to apply to study abroad. Unfortunately, many Ghanaians lose money because they rely on connection men instead of researching. The information is free online, but some people are too lazy to read,” he explained.
After completing college, Atom became interested in traveling, inspired by a friend in Canada and advice from a teacher who told him teaching would not make him rich. He worked as a teacher and taxi driver in Ghana, but after 19 years in teaching, he decided to pursue studies in the UK.
Moving to the UK, however, was not easy. The person meant to pick him up at the airport never showed up, and for his first four days, he almost returned to Ghana out of frustration. A man he begged for help assisted him, and later he managed to rent a place, though he first lived in a basement. He worked at a car wash for a year, a job he got thanks to his driving skills, before settling into other opportunities.
Atom also noted that contrary to what many believe, not everything abroad is better than in Ghana. “The health service in Ghana is even better in some aspects,” he added.
Today, Atom has managed to secure a permit to live and work in the UK, but his journey has been filled with sacrifices, hard lessons, and resilience.