Tukiya flies four flags. How many do you fly?

Tukiya

I was born in the UK, and I definitely see myself as being a Londoner and being British. But I am also completely Zambian. I recently started learned a Zambian language, Nyanja, over zoom with a teacher in Zambia , which is pretty cool. Lastly,  I also identify with South African culture. My grandparents story is one of migration, some of the parents were from South Africa. As children they migrated across Zimbabwe and then moved to Zambia. So Zimbabwean culture has also had an influence in my heritage as well.  So all of those areas; South Africa, Zimbabwe, Zambia, and the UK. Those are all countries I fly the flag for, I remember picking them for my Instagram bio and my sister was like, “You can't put that many, it's too much!” But I was like, this is me!

I am what you would call a first generation child in the UK. All the issues that my mum was facing as a person in the UK, I got to see first hand, which included racism. I  also got to see the way communities supported each other whilst trying to figure out life in the UK. For example the people you call your aunties or your uncle might not be blood relatives, but we will always come together for celebrations and life events . Take Christmasses, they were always a huge celebration and fusion of Zambian and South African culture.

I love South African music, especially South African gospel music. They sing from their bellies, as if they're crying, but it can be happy, emotive and passionate. And then there's  South African house music , there's just something  amazing in every beat of every South African house. And South African meat is incredible. Now there's more places you can get it in the UK, but growing up meant someone bringing that from their travels. When someone would arrive from Heathrow Airport, all the children would rush over to their suitcase asking “What did you bring us?” And it would be biltong wrapped in newspaper.

I went to Zambia in December 2019 and it was one of the best trips taken of all my travelling. It was the first time I'd been to Zambia as an adult. I didn't do the typical touristy things when I went, it was mostly spending time with my grandmother on the farm. My grandma is an entrepreneur. She had salons in Zambia and she's been property development. She still is. But right now, she's a farmer and focuses on agriculture.

Going to Zambia for the first time was a really big life changing moment for me. I know that every person is encouraged to go back to their country, and explore their roots, but I can't stress how much of an effect it had on me. I remember on the plane home from Zambia, I was just in tears. They were happy tears, I was so happy. It was incredible. Now I feel even more connected to Zambia. I didn't want to just go, enjoy and leave, but I wanted to find a health centre to develop and support. This was important to me as I work in public health and believe health system strengthening is so important.

My sister and I decided to set up a campaign called MaiZambia to raise money for a rural health centre, which focuses on maternal health care. The clinic was only initially designed to provide antenatal care and to minor procedures. However, as it is in a rural area, and the  main hospital is too far away for mothers to travel,  the center is used to deliver babies.

Zambia is a country that has been heavily affected by HIV/AIDS especially since the nineties. Many families have lost people and have had entire families affected by this disease. I have grown up hearing these stories and listening to the effect this has had on families and the country as a whole. This is one main factor that has influenced my choices to help people that may be vulnerable, and have limited access to healthcare. I am also passionate about mental health. Another challenge within migrant populations and the diaspora is stigma pertaining to mental health. Also, across Zambia mental health services and mental health specialists need to be increased. I try to discuss many health related issues in my podcast 'HappyHealthUs'

When people in the diaspora send money to family members back home it's more than just sending money to a family member. When I send money to my grandma, she says “Tukiya, we're doing something great,  We're doing this mission work” she is in charge of the charitable projects for children  in her church. When I was in Zambia with her on Christmas day 2019, she drove me to a compound where we provided food and refreshments for many children and families. Now, this is just my experience but I can imagine when people around the world send remittances to their countries their money touches many more and impacts entire communities.