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From footballer to baker

Ein Mann in einem Sporttrikot.

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From footballer to baker

My name is Faida; I'm 23 years old and come from Accra. My dream was to become a successful footballer in Europe. I wanted to turn professional, but that plan failed. Now I run my own business in Ghana, although I needed some support to achieve this.

I was a talented footballer. I played for the Dallas Texas team here in Accra and flew with them in 2013 to a tournament in Norway. I stayed in Europe and travelled to Denmark to turn professional there. But instead I was arrested because my visa had expired. I applied for asylum – without success.

I didn't want to give up on my dream of professional football in Europe, so I went to Germany and submitted an asylum application there too. I kept on searching for a major football club who would sign me up. It was unfortunate, but that didn't work out either. I eventually took a job in a restaurant and learned German. I realised how difficult it was to communicate with people around me without any language skills. But my asylum application was rejected once again. A knee injury also meant I could no longer play football. 

Ein Mann in einem gelben Shirt steht in einer Bäckerei. Im Hintergrund sind Brote zu sehen.
Faida in his bakery. He’s now also selling freshly squeezed fruit juices there.

I returned to Ghana, although I had no possessions or prospects there. The Ghanaian-German Centre for Employment, Migration and Reintegration helped me to start again. The advice team rented me an apartment and arranged for me to attend a start-up training course. I learned a lot there and this new knowledge enabled me to open a bakery. I also sell freshly pressed fruit juices. I'm really happy, because I earn my own money and can provide for myself. I found it easy to set up my own business because of the amount of support I received. Now I want to become one of the best bakers in the country.

As of 06/2020

The opportunities for advice and assistance described here are offered as part of “Returning to New Opportunities”.

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Having my own bakery means I have a better life now in Ghana than I did in Germany.
Faida, Ghana

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