Publication: Sinnah’s Story

By Margarita Twemlow

 

In today’s society, more and more people are leaving home and moving abroad. For work-related reasons or just for a change of scenery, it is common to find people moving across the world.

I spoke to Sinnah Makanda who is 15 and comes from Harare, Zimbabwe, in the southern part of Africa. Sinnah told me about her family and how she came to live in Kent.

 

“We moved to England because my mum had to find a better job because of a tough situation back home. My mum did nursing here but originally we moved to London,” Sinnah told me.

 

It’s hard to leave family and friends behind to live somewhere where you don’t really know anyone. “It was really difficult to leave my family and friends because we were all so close. My uncle and aunt eventually came out here too”.

 

Different countries have different cultures and ways of living. I asked Sinnah what the main differences were. “School terms are a lot different to here. We only have three months holiday for the whole year.”

Moving to Kent can be practical and useful because you have nice beaches, easy access to France but house prices are quite high. “When my mum and I first moved here, we lived in London. In the end we came to Kent because we found London to be too violent and noisy. It was really unsafe.”

 

There are so many benefits of emigrating. The disadvantages can be overcome if you find the right place to live with nice people!