SIX years ago, Michael Muriithi Mwangi took a leap of faith by leaving his life as an accountant in the Kenyan capital of Nairobi to accept a university scholarship in Perth.
The chance to study in Scotland, a land he has since found to be rich in opportunities, was something he described as “beyond his dreams” and, with his family encouraging him to move abroad to reach greater heights, there was little to mull over when he was presented with a chance to study business management at the University of the Highlands and Islands.
It was the first flight he had ever stepped foot on, but Mwangi made the brave move in a bid to provide more for his family and advance his career options, having felt constrained in his home country where higher education would have cost him in the region of £20,000 a year.
“I didn’t come from a well-to-do family. I didn’t have anyone to hold my hand so I had to start from scratch,” he said.
“So getting an opportunity to board a plane and come and study in Scotland was something that was way beyond my dreams.”
His journey since he arrived in Scotland has not been without its challenges. About a year into his studies, he faced a distressing ordeal when his school started asking for payment for his course fees – something he believed had been covered by his sponsor.
Feeling scared and isolated, Mwangi decided to take the drastic measure of going to the police, after which he was referred to the charity Migrant Help.
The organisation supported him in acquiring an immigration lawyer, a reliable sponsor and new accommodation as well as counselling given the toll the episode took on Mwangi’s mental health.
“Migrant Help showed me that I was going through problems. It made me realise, 'wait a minute, you’ve been going through this problem' and I didn’t know because I was deep in it,” he said.
“It made me come out of my trauma which I didn’t know I had.”
Having come through the remainder of his studies and the Refugees as Re-Builders training programme run by Initiatives of Change, Mwangi, now 35, is now working as an apprentice with housing association Home Group and PATH Scotland in Glasgow and could not be happier.
Amid an endless stream of negative headlines around immigration in the UK and issues with integration, Mwangi (below) is now determined to spread his positive story of finding a new home in Scotland where he has felt safe and welcome.
While many of us may take the authorities and regulation that surround us every day for granted, Mwangi said he has been endlessly grateful there is a “system for everything” in Scotland, unlike the volatility and insecurity he encountered living in Kenya.
“If you’re looking for a house, you go to the city council and they will assist you. If you are looking for charity support or are struggling to buy food, someone will signpost you for that,” he told the Sunday National.
“If you are looking for employment you will be signposted to the Job Centre. There is a system for everything, that’s how I see it.
“In Kenya it’s the opposite because the system is not working. Every individual has to take care of another individual.
“If I become successful in my family, I have to take care of my brothers, my uncles, my aunties because the system is not working there.”
Mwangi has said he has felt safe in Scotland, particularly in dealing with the police.
According to the International Justice Mission, police abuse of power is commonplace in Kenya. Historically, police officers have had the freedom to bribe, abuse, falsely accuse and imprison, and even kill citizens with little fear of any consequences, and an astounding number of citizens have disappeared or been murdered at the hands of the Kenyan police.
“Here in Scotland, when you meet a police officer, you are more inclined to go to them because you know they will give you support and not be biased. They won’t be corrupt,” said Mwangi.
But it’s not just that he has felt safe and supported in Scotland. He has also found the “cosmopolitan” city of Glasgow to be a friendly place where there is endless entertainment and opportunity.
“If I was given the choice of Glasgow or London, I would choose Glasgow,” he said.
“As a city, it’s very cosmopolitan, there are many people from all over the world. When you live in a place with diverse nationalities, there are a lot of advantages in terms of entertainment, in terms of lifestyle.
“The few times I’ve been to London, it seems structured, in a way, for the rich. If I go to London, I wouldn’t go there to look for a job because I’m not wealthy. But in Glasgow, it’s structured for anyone. It accommodates everyone and that’s what I like about it.”
Mwangi is on a graduate visa at the moment but he is hoping he will be given authorisation to stay in Scotland for the long term where he wants to take up more career opportunities in housing and business.
“If more opportunities come up in Scotland, I will stay, why not?” he said.
“What I’ve achieved in the six years I have been in Scotland, I would not have achieved that in Kenya. There are more opportunities here.”
