A Handbook for Migrants

In this book, you will find stories and useful information about the following:

• The benefits of immigration to emigrants, nations and the wider community.
• Connecting with the heart, hope and faith behind the giant leap of emigration as the author provides a reflection of the key drivers for his decision to relocate to the land Down Under.
• Learning to thrive and communicate effectively despite initial culture shocks and gaps in languages.
• How to manage matters of potential loss of qualifications previously obtained from home countries and reinventing for new education and skills for competitive edge.
• Practical steps in finding employment even with the uncertainties associated with having the right local network and work experience.
• The challenges and lessons regarding family life including raising children and youth.
• The essential aspects and preparation for aging and retirement including the vital roles of ethnic communities and leadership.

You will find great value from reading this book if you are:

• An intending, new or emerging immigrant looking for wisdom, tips and inspiration for successful emigration and living a life of meaning and balance in your new country.
• A more resident immigrant looking for further guidance on how to become more established while managing changes and unique issues relating to job seeking, careers, families in diaspora, and contributing to growth and development in your new country.
• Non-immigrants, international and local students, government agencies, policymakers, service providers and community leaders. We all can add to our cultural intelligence.

Policymakers, service providers and local residents in destination countries will particularly find this book useful in helping them understand the typical lived experience of immigrants a bit more. Lack of awareness may be responsible for many actions that are sometimes perceived as racial discrimination. This book can provide some information to enable people to enter into the world of the immigrant, which hopefully can trigger empathy, better multicultural communications and integration.

The main content of this book is related to the lived experience of a skilled immigrant born in Nigeria, Africa, and now resides in Australia. His lived experiences are complemented with wider observations and research findings. The lessons shared and the transferable principles could be applied in other national contexts like Canada, UK and USA. People of refugee and asylum seeking statuses can also learn a lot from reading this book.

Finally, by reading this book, intending, new and emerging immigrants can seek to maximise the benefits of immigration. They would not have to reinvent the wheel of challenges, pains and losses associated with lack of guidance. This book is a type of advance mentoring tool in that regards.