My name is Simon and I’m 37 years old. My wife Munaya and I have three children. Our search for a better life took us from Ghana to Germany. But we couldn’t stay there. Back in our home country, we received some help to open two grocery stores. Now we can provide for our family.

I couldn’t find a job in Ghana in 2007, so I travelled to Libya. My wife followed three years later, but civil war broke out in Libya shortly after that and we suffered from hunger. We decided to take a boat to Italy, and from there we travelled on to Germany where we hoped to find better opportunities for our children. We weren’t granted a residence or work permit though because Ghana is considered to be a safe country, so we finally returned to Accra.

New plans and ideas

Our new start in Ghana wasn’t easy. I’d always imagined returning as a wealthy man one day. But it turned out differently: we had to rely on help from others. That often made me irritable, and we weren’t doing well as a family. About a year later we were told about the Ghanaian-German Centre for Jobs, Migration and Reintegration (GGC). We got in touch with them, and the team there arranged for us to take part in a training course run by the Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA). They taught us how to run our own business and develop a loyal customer base. We also received psychosocial support from the International Organization for Migration (IOM).

My uncle once ran a small shop that had refrigeration units, so I wanted to try this as well. Munaya was also happy with the idea of selling food. The GGC helped us to open our stores and we’re doing much better now. We can take better care of ourselves, we’re more settled and our relationships with others have become more positive.

And we have plans to expand our business. Munaya would like to stock a wider range of products. I would like to raise livestock and sell the meat in my refrigerated shop. The money we’re earning means we’ll be able to send our children to good schools. We want them to have better prospects than we did. I’m happy that they’re growing up in our home country. This is where we’ve found our peace of mind.

As of: 05/2021

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