A Diversity Of Experiences Through Work & Play.
While living in Jinja as a twelve-year-old boy, Yogesh—the youngest of over ten siblings—had plenty of company with whom he could enjoy Uganda’s weather and activities. He was a great student, too, with a particular talent for mathematics.
Early into his secondary education, Yogesh left his old life behind when he and his family were forced out of their country under the Ugandan Asians exodus (although, with youthful vigour, he was more excited than anxious to do so). They rejoined some of his older siblings in London, who had established livelihoods there a few years prior.
Despite facing a few challenges, Yogesh made the most of his time at his new school in the UK, and reached a high level of educational attainment. This would kickstart an enduring and diverse working life, upon which he looks back with favour.
Below is an extract from Yogesh’s motivating story.
“More so than Uganda’s weather, I miss my big family living together in our big flat in Jinja, and our excellent community of neighbours there. I can’t bring back the past, but I do have tentative plans to revisit Uganda for the first time soon. I would visit my old flat and school; and given my educational success and professional background, I would organise a workshop on financial awareness for the school children.
Uganda still holds a special place in my heart. Although my career has progressed nicely in the UK, my birthplace gave me an excellent foundation through a solid rooting and a strong primary education. Thank you Uganda.”
We will be releasing contributors’ full stories at a later date, so please stay tuned for them. If you would like to read a full story now, then please see the first five stories posted here on our website.
This is a project by AFFCAD UK to celebrate the 50 year anniversary of the exodus of Ugandan Asians, by collating and archiving the stories of those involved. If you would like to contribute a story, do get in touch here.