At Wandle, we celebrate Black History Month every year, and this year’s theme is ‘Reclaiming Our Narratives,’ and marks a significant shift towards recognising and correcting the narratives of black history and culture.
Below are two real-life stories from Wandle colleagues.
Tok’s story
Tok’s is a Customer Service Advisor at Wandle and has been kind enough to share her experience of emigrating to the UK as a young woman.
“I came to the UK aged 18 after I had sat my GCSE exams in August 1982, and l was so excited to leave Nigeria for greener pastures.
“My parents both studied in the UK and returned to Nigeria in 1963 by ship which was cheaper for them.
“I wasn’t prepared for the cold at all, and I wore the wrong footwear from September to November until my GP warned me to buy boots instead of wearing open sandals with socks to college after I got chilblains on both feet.
“I had to book an urgent holiday to Nigeria after the first-term break from college to get warmth as l wasn’t coping well with the cold UK weather.
“I made friends at college, especially with my Philippine classmates. There were very few black students in my class in the 80s. There was a lack of information for foreign students and accessing the information I needed to make the UK my home was difficult.
“I hit difficulty when my money was stolen, and my visa didn’t allow me to work. I was lucky that my aunt worked for the Metropolitan Police and helped me retrieve the stolen £1000.
“However, it took a month for my money to be refunded, and I was at breaking point. I wrote to the Home Office explaining I needed to work to thrive in this country. They quickly sent me my National Insurance number and I got my first job at McDonald’s.”
Black History Month is important to Toks, because she believes, in “celebrating my culture and heritage, and acknowledging the good things other black people have achieved with their contribution to humanity and their sacrifices.”
Yinka’s story
Yinka Bolaji is Wandle’s Executive Director of Development and Property and has shared his fascinating story.
“I recently re-watched a Netflix documentary called White Nanny, Black Child. It tells the story of more than 70,000 West African children who were informally fostered by white British families from the 1950s to as late as 1995. These children’s parents came to seek better opportunities in Britain, hoping to build a brighter future.
“I was one of these children. I was born in 1965, and at that time, families like mine had two options: either pause their studies to care for their children or arrange informal fostering.
“My parents came to England in the 1960s to study and improve their prospects after Nigeria gained independence. My father, Nathaniel, trained as an Electrical Engineer, and my mother, Mary, trained as a Midwife.
“Both were teachers before arriving in the UK, and they left my three older siblings, the youngest only three years old, in Nigeria with relatives to care for them while they pursued their studies.
“When I was born, my mother was preparing to start her training in Sheffield, and through a work colleague, she found the Meads family. At just six weeks old, I was fostered and lived in Surbiton alongside their three older children until 1968, when I returned to Nigeria with my mother.
“Though I grew up in Nigeria, the Meads, who had lived in Tanzania in the 1950s, became my extended family. We stayed in touch over the years, exchanging letters and updating each other on our lives. They never missed a birthday, always sending gifts and postal orders. When I returned to the UK after graduating from university, we rekindled our relationship, and the Meads saw me build a life and family of my own here.
“In 2000, before my mother passed away, she visited the UK one last time. Her final words to Barbara Mead were, “Thank you, and if we don’t meet again, we will surely meet at Jesus’ feet.”
“I was honoured when the Mead family asked me to deliver Barbara’s eulogy at her funeral. During her final days, Barbara’s last words to me were “my baby,” and I am thankful that I had the chance to express my gratitude for the legacy she left behind.
“I am immensely grateful for the kindness shown to me by the Meads and perhaps because I returned to Nigeria at a young age, I did not struggle with identity and belonging issues that some children experienced. I also know others who were fostered for many years—some for over a decade—and have gone on to become successful, responsible adults in the UK.
“Reflecting on the recent ‘mindless’ riots that followed the tragic event in Southport during the summer of 2024, I can’t help but think of how some marginalised individuals have chosen to blame an entire migrant population for their struggles. Instead, I choose to remember the enduring connections we form across cultures. “
