EDUCATING THE YOUNG AFRICAN BOY IN A WESTERN SETTING

Kwame had already turned 15 years old when his father decided to bring him abroad to stay with him and give him a better life. He was just a young Ghanaian boy who lived in a rural village back in Ghana. He had always dreamt of flying across the ocean to come to Europe to experience how life would be on this side of the world. Back in Ghana, he would boast to his friends about his dad who lived overseas and how one day he would be reunited with him so he could also come back to Ghana and be called "Boga" (a colloquial term for Ghanaians living abroad). Upon Kwame's arrival in Europe, he was dumbfounded by the beauty of the Western land that he did not want even to move back anymore. And if there were a time he would go back, it will be when he decides to visit his friends back home. 

NEW LAND, NEW LANGUAGE

He started to learn to the language of his new adopted country and got quite good at it. After a year or two, he could move onto a secondary school where he had to learn and choose a carrier path for himself which could benefit him in his future. He struggled a bit in his early years of school, not knowing how things get done on this side of the world. If he were going to make it, he basically would have to learn everything from scratch. This required he learn faster so he could be on the same level with his mates. At first, Kwame thought it was the language, but as time went on, he realized it was not the only factor, he could not understand the ways of studies. He tried using the skills he acquired from his village back in Ghana in order to support the way of learning abroad where he lived. Kwame's dream was to be a scientist, but as the days went by and the only progress he saw was his age, and he felt he was wasting his time due to his age and what his family and the society were expecting from him. So unfortunately for Kwame, he had to drop out even before secondary school ended. He had a lot going on his mind that he could not continue any further. He found himself a job at a warehouse where he got quite a good salary and continued living life. 

Kwame went from being that young and ambitious 15 years old boy who had lots of dreams and aspirations in life, who was looking forward to achieving them in Europe. Now he looks at himself 10years later, disappointed in his trajectory in Europe and says that he wished his father should have left him back in his homeland where he could have made his dreams happen.

Most Africans who migrate in their teenage years have a problem with understanding how the western systems fully work.

THE PROBLEM?

Most Africans who migrate in their teenage years have a problem with understanding how the western systems fully work.

Unfortunately, there are a lot of Kwames all over the world that are still living a life they never dreamt of living. These boys know what they want in life and thought they knew how they could get it done. Little did they know that the future could change for the worse for them in just a couple of years of their lives. The young African boy knows his dreams. He is ambitious and wants to become the breadwinner that he has always wanted to be and provide for his family as he should in an African setting. Should he have grown in the Africa setting, he knew what future awaits him and would have been prepared for it, however ill-prepared it might have been. Although he is aware of the risks and the complete changes that could come with growing up in his motherland, he still strives to stay and work as hard as he can to be what he wants. He knows there are no barriers to stop him from achieving what he wants to achieve besides the factors that common to all. In the Africa setting, he understands his communities limitations and the shared privileges and therefore prepares to meet those challenges. He develops a mindset to fight the battles of life and conquer any challenges that he would face.

PRESSURE TO EARN MONEY

What he is not aware of is that one day, his father will dream of moving away to make his life and that of his family a better one. His father considers moving to a more prosperous country the only way he could make ends meet for himself and his family. His father would go away for a long time and work hard and earn money so he can finally bring his children over to the same country because of what he found there, which is money. So, when Kwame gets here, he is told is either he excels in school or drops out to look for a job, in other words, whatever he does, he must make sure he brings money home. The chance of migrating to Europe at the age of 15, studying in a new language and successfully earning an academic degree is very slim. So, we all know where the chip eventually falls. Moreover, while Kwame maybe pressured to earn money whichever way he chooses, they do not know about Kwame's struggle and that maybe this might not be the right place for him or that it takes more than just being brought to Europe to succeed.

The average Ghanaian boy in Europe focuses on earning money rather than focusing on building a better future through education in all of its forms.

WHAT DO THEY NEED?

1. COMMUNITY

   Every child that lives outside their homeland needs a community that can count they can relate and learn. Kwame needed an African community to be there for him and guide him in the things that he needed to learn in his newfound home. 

2. PARENTAL ATTENTION

Most parents also never pay attention to their children when they get here, at least not intentionally. They burden them with responsibilities that they are not even supposed to think of in the first place. Boys like Kwame do need the right people to guide them by tutoring them in subjects they might find difficult studying at school, helping them find the right path in their career and help them find a way to make their dreams happen. 

THE SURVEY

I conducted a survey on social media, where I asked most Ghanaian boys from most countries across Europe who came here in their teenage years to answer to specific questions. Some of these questions were, are you doing what you dreamed of doing since you were a kid? Do you think it might be a result of you coming here at that age? Etc. I also asked some friends of Kwame, if they have any regrets up until now, and most of the responses were yes because they didn't get the guidance they needed in order to further their education.

The average Ghanaian boy in Europe focuses on earning money rather than focusing on building a better future through education in all of its forms. 

What could they possibly do for themselves?

Most young people do not know the real importance of social media. Although they know what it is, and they get to use it at school, they tend to forget the primary use of social media, which is, to gather information. According to a study conducted in 2019, the average number of hours spent on social media by teenagers is 27 hours per week. These numbers are so high you would start to imagine what happens there. Most teenagers spend time social media to maintain friendships and provide emotional support for one another when needed. 

Social media can be used to access lots of information which could help with their studies. Here in Belgium, for example, we have the "onderwijskiezer" where young people can find what is right for them in terms of career and studies needed. Most young Ghanaian boys do not know about these online resources, so they tend to wander about until they find themselves a job that gives them money, and they are okay with it.

WHAT COULD BE DONE?

There is a need for the Ghanaian parent to be actively present in the lives of their children when it comes to things concerning their education. They need to attend Parent-Teacher meetings, make a one-on-one appointment with the teachers to ask about their children's welfare and their mental states from their perspective. These parents also need to have an everyday chat with the kids to ask them what they aspire to be and how they intend on doing these things. To back what they need, these parents need to support their children in whatever ways they can, whether it be a monetary aspect, guidance, motivation, and so many more ways possible. 

Most parents lack the confidence to do all of these because of specific barriers like a language, in this case, the society could create groups of young people whereby we help them navigate their lives correctly and into the right directions. We need to create more groups of future leaders where anyone who travels abroad at such a young and confused age will not have to wander around and end up somewhere he never intended to be in the first place.

Conclusion

There are a lot of young men like Kwame who look behind and think to themselves that they could have achieved more than they have now. Although they just needed the right people to do the right things in their lives, they also needed to read more and learn that there is more to the internet than we see before us. 

As a society, we need to do the very best we can and use all the resources that we have to help build up these young leaders so we would not have to grow old and wonder what these kids needed from us and what we gave them.

Reference

1. Interview with Kwame and his friends

1. Platform in Belgium for searching for careers and possible future studies: https://www.onderwijskiezer.be/v2/index.php

1. Teen's social media habits and experiences: https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/2018/11/28/teens-social-media-habits-and-experiences/

1. Impact of social media on youth: https://www.marketing91.com/impact-of-social-media-on-youth/