Before you pack your bags to the UK…

When I was younger, I used to find it amusing the level of preparation my mother put into her trips to the U.K to visit relatives. What piqued my interest was the sizes of the boxes; they were always so wide I could easily fit into them. But more interesting is they were never filled with clothes; my mom rarely packed clothes to travel. Instead, the boxes were filled with food like dried stockfish, Gala, Tomtom, hair extensions, dried Egusi boxes or a spatula for turning Eba. My mother was the earliest dispatch rider I knew. At times I was a bit embarrassed until I made a trip with her and witnessed the joy on my cousin’s face as she tore open the Garri she had brought. Those little sacrifices made a big difference to them.

Read also: Why you should take the U.K’s heatwave seriously

With migration on the most significant rise to date post the pandemic and several legislative changes, the gates of the United Kingdom(U.K) seem to be a little easier to walk through. Our newest miniseries, Dispatch, which features advice and tips from our community members on how they’ve adjusted to their new country, was created in response to this.

In our first episode, we give easy tips to upgrade your social life as an immigrant and our second episode talks about food. Keep an eye out for the newest episode every Thursday on our YouTube page, or subscribe to our channel to ensure you never miss an episode.