Benedicta Serwaa Shares Her Journey Abroad and Lessons Learned
Benedicta Serwaa, a Ghanaian currently based in Coventry, shared her life story and experiences abroad.
She attended Aggrey Memorial School but later resat for Mathematics and Science. Afterwards, she enrolled at GH Media School and pursued Journalism and Media Studies at Jordan. However, due to a lack of confidence, she switched courses when cosmetology was introduced. There, she learned to braid children’s hair and style hair. Later, she left and continued her studies at IJ Masi before moving to Accra, where she stayed with a friend until her mother—who was already abroad—eventually brought her and her younger sister overseas.
Benedicta admitted that while she gained work experience, she also made mistakes by being too open with fellow Ghanaians abroad, some of whom exposed her personal issues. She recalled an incident where she was dragged into a workplace rivalry between her friend and another colleague, only to later discover her friend was speaking ill of her. That experience taught her to be more cautious in her relationships.
Currently, Benedicta works two jobs. She also has skills in braiding and makeup but has put them aside for now. She describes life in Coventry as generally good, noting that even strangers, like white men, can brighten your day with a smile and a kind greeting.
However, not all experiences have been positive. She once encountered a shocking situation when she discovered a man had passed away while she was out collecting bins. She immediately reported it, but the incident left a deep impression on her. Reflecting on life and the deaths of many of her friends in Ghana, she even believes she could work in a mortuary now.
Benedicta highlighted the differences between Ghana and the UK. “In Ghana, we could eat fufu at dawn, but here you can’t because the sun only shines properly in the summer,” she said. She added that men are scarce where she lives, and her mother warned her about Ghanaian men abroad who may have hidden families.
On relationships, Benedicta revealed she left her Ghanaian boyfriend at the airport before traveling abroad. She explained that she knew she was leaving but never told him, because from his actions and words, she realized he didn’t truly love her. “If he had supported me and shown genuine love, I would have helped him travel too. But my actions made it clear to him that we were no longer together,” she shared.
Today, she is speaking to someone in Ghana but insists she will not bring any man abroad, as she believes long-distance relationships are unnecessary.
Her biggest advice to others is: “Don’t rely too much on fellow Ghanaians abroad. When you face trouble, they won’t stand by you. The person who brought you here is the only one who truly matters.”
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