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Senait came to the UK from Ethiopia after she got married to a British Citizen. She first lived in Liverpool for two years, and then moved to London. Before she came to the UK, she was very active working with a church and the Urban Ministry. ‘I wanted to solve people’s problems and work with disadvantaged women,’ says Senait.
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Challenges

Although she came to the UK with good professional qualifications and experience, working knowledge of English, as well as her husband’s support, two things were challenging to Senait in the beginning.

The first challenge was the language barrier. ‘It (English) was not easy for me. Accent was different. Liverpool’s accent was difficult to communicate…’

She also found it difficult to access to the existing services, because she was not aware of their existence. ‘In Ethiopia, we do not have this kind of social security system. (There are only) few governmental help. Especially when it comes to health. (if you do not have money, you will not be treated). It’s completely different from us. All the structure is different.’
She also felt lonely to be in the UK from time to time.

Tipping Points

After she moved from Liverpool to London, Senait ‘started to work for Ethiopian asylum seekers in London. I was working as an interpreter.’ From 2005, she has been working for Ethiopian Women and now she works as a managing director.

She also took part in different courses, such as counseling, interpreting and therapy, and kept herself busy and made sure that she would meet people. ‘That occupied my time. I was less isolated,’ so recalls Senait. ‘I met people through these people. I used to travel a lot with those people. I used to go to white people’s church. That helped my work as well. I go for meetings with different people. […] I’m not alone.’

Belonging

Senait now feels ‘fine’ to be in the UK, although she goes back to Ethiopia every year and she actually prefers doing charitable activities in her own country. However, due to her health issue, Senait would like to stay in the UK.

In the future, Senait says that ‘I probably stay here, but still I want to do project at home. I want to help children who need special help and do a charitable activity. That’s my long-time plan. My short plan is to get more funding for project.’