After the first two editions of this themed article, we saw the importance of understanding the African communities in the Diaspora. We saw through the lenses of avid Kaoshi Network customers what it is like to live in these communities and how they connect back with home.
We then decided to sit down a third time with another loyal and wonderful customer to share her own experience on how it has been and her advice for someone who is new to the scene. We are joined with Summer who tells her own story.
Kaoshi Network: “Hi Summer, can we meet you? Where do you reside and what do you do?”
Summer: “Hi, my name is Summer, and I live in the United Kingdom. I am a high growth banker by profession and a mother of one. I relocated to the UK in 2021”
Kaoshi Network: “How has living in the United Kingdom been for you? How has your experience shaped you so far and what are things you have garnered along the way that have helped you?”
Summer: “To be honest, one thing I’d say is that life is not easy peasy and perfect but there’s a bit more structure with how life is in this country. You can tell that the country has a lot to offer if you’re willing to take it unlike where I come from where there’s a lot but it’s difficult to get a hold of it. That experience of living in a society where there’s structure and straightforwardness, and the system is designed to ensure a good level of equity. I mean life is life and it can be unfair here and there, but the system here helps you have hope for yourself and for your children.”
So, that has generally been my experience here and it’s not just structure as a word, it cuts through everyday activities and that is why it is greatly felt.”
Kaoshi Network: “Are you part of any communities? Could be a friend group from work or so, but concerning Africans in general, are you part of any groups?”
Summer: “Well, yes, I’m part of my local church and I am part of a couple of diaspora communities, among them is a small one. A group of ladies who try to hang out and reach out to each other.”
Kaoshi Network: “Okay. Doubling down on your group of lady friends, are they fellow Africans and how did you people get together?”
Summer: “Yes. They are fellow Nigerians who are women, live in the same town as I do, and we all have a family of our own. So, we just decided to come together and have a little union and friendship.”
Kaoshi Network: “Speaking specifically about your community now, how do you guys keep in touch with home and connect with your people back home?”
Summer: “In terms of my community and the other communities that I know of, a lot of people do not really build these communities with the aim of connecting with home, rather many of them do it to connect with each other here, to find a sense of home here. Maybe one way I can say we stay close to our roots is in the broader communities where there are people who run African stores, a hairdresser who makes hair for Africans. This basically creates a home away from home for us, which answers your question. By doing things that would be obtainable at home but not here due to cultural differences, supporting each other like attending each others’ parties, contributing to each others’ events and by bringing our positive home-based practices down here to help everyone feel a sense of support.”
Kaoshi Network: “Beautiful to hear! Thank You! Also to ask, when we speak about connecting with home, people often think about sending money and calls, but are there events or businesses you support back home maybe not personally but as a community?”
Summer: “With regards to that, my husband even does that more than I do. He supports a couple of young people and initiatives. What I find myself doing is partnering with him to see that it is a success. We don’t really do big stuff, but we find family that are close to home like distant cousins, people around his area and people within our circle who need the help. I don’t think it makes sense to do publicized philanthropy when people who are close to you need it more.”
Kaoshi Network: “Following up with that, how has Kaoshi Network helped you in connecting with home in terms of sending and receiving money from home? Do you know anyone in your circle who also uses our services to achieve this goal?”
Summer: “To start with, yes, it has really helped me. I got to know Kaoshi through my husband. He uses it and I use it as well. The convenience of doing transactions in one place through the click of a button in under five minutes is amazing. When I was still in Nigeria, my husband used Kaoshi to send me money for us to plan our wedding and that was instrumental to us coming here. It has really helped us also send money back home for others. Someone like me who is a nursing mum, I do my transactions at 2am because that’s the only time I’ve got. There’s no closing time and it’s a huge benefit. It makes life infinitely easier for me really.”
Kaoshi Network: “What advice would you give someone who is new to the scene and is stepping into these communities for the first time from the perspective of your own personal community?”
Summer: “For someone who is new to the scene, depending on where you move to, there is a risk of people feeling they’re odd cos they’re no African spaces and that is where my first advice will come from — see yourself as human first before your skin colour. If you’re open minded, you’d see others regardless of race, as human and in that way, you’d look for the humanity in people. Don’t feel bad because you’re the only black person there, you could be there for a reason. Don’t mistake your uniqueness for being odd.”
Kaoshi Network: “Thank you so much for your time Summer.”
Summer: “My pleasure!”
