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. 

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”.