Finding purpose back home: The journey of Dr Jane Osei-Pokuaa
Every migrant carries a story of discovery, disillusionment, reinvention and ultimately, identity.
For Dr Jane Osei Pokuaa, the decision to return to Ghana after decades abroad was not triggered by a single event, economic calculation or emotional impulse, but by a slow, honest confrontation with life, purpose and belonging.
Her journey reflects the complex realities of diasporan life: the opportunities seized, the comforts built, the fatigue endured, and the yearning for home that refuses to disappear.
Sharing her journey with The Mirror last Saturday, she said, despite having spent over 20 years in the United Kingdom (UK), building a solid professional life with discipline and sheer determination, there was always the longing to return home and resettle.
Professionally, she rose through her career in project management and was earning good money, owned a comfortable home, raised children and achieved a level of stability many consider the hallmark of success.
But with time came a truth she could no longer ignore, that beyond bills, routines and the constant rush, something essential was missing.
Dr Osei-Pokuaa recalls going months without truly enjoying the life she had worked so hard to build.
“Ask me how many times I even went to the park,” she reflects with a half-smile.
“None. It was always too cold, or I was too busy. By the time I got back from the supermarket, cooked, washed, and cleaned. I was tired. And the cycle starts again.”
For many in the diaspora, the outward comfort of the West often masks an inner restlessness.
She experienced it deeply. But every visit to Ghana brought something different — a quiet joy.
Even with mosquitoes, dusty roads and imperfect systems, she said the feeling of being home was undeniable.
“When you’re coming to Ghana, you are excited. But when you’re going back, even your mood changes. It’s not about money; it’s something inside you,” she said.
The return
Her return, she explained, was not impulsive. It was deliberate and costly. Dr Osei-Pokuaa said she made the difficult decision to put her house on the market, resign from her job and move back to Ghana with her children.
The choice, she said, left her both vulnerable and empowered.
“It was a big risk,” she admits.
“But I realised something important, it wasn’t Britain that made me. It was me. If I could make it there, I could make it here.”
Dr Osei-Pokuaa explained that she did not consult widely, “People will only confuse you.”
“Everyone has an opinion. I mean, I was working, had my home, cars, and so they will ask why are you leaving? And because of that, I did not tell anybody. Some have come and gone back. But I felt I had done well there and it was time,” she added.
Selling her home gave her the financial foundation to restart, to rent, buy a car, settle the children and rebuild life in Ghana.
She acknowledges that relocation, even within Ghana, was hard. Across continents, even harder. But the inner conviction that guided her was stronger than the uncertainties ahead.
“The thing about abroad is that as soon as you buy your ticket to come home, you are so happy. You are just excited, something to look forward to.
Someone said you are looking forward to the flights, the dirty gutters, and the poor customer service that you get in Ghana. But aside from all that, there is something in you that is happy,” she said.
Confronting Ghana’s realities
She disclosed that settling back in Ghana exposed her to the country’s contradictions, its warmth and frustrations, as well as its beauty and inefficiencies.
She does not romanticise these challenges. Instead, she said she understood them as part of the national journey.
“The frustrations are real, but you look beyond them. You want Ghana to be better because we have the potential,” she said.
She, however, noted how many young people feel overwhelmed by Ghana’s difficulties and how many abroad long to return but fear the unknown.
Her empathy extended in both directions, adding, “People who haven’t travelled don’t understand when you compare systems, and people abroad want to come, but the cost alone stops them. Not everyone has savings or property to sell.”
Family and identity
She said her children followed her, because “where their mother is, that’s where they will be”. They had experienced Ghana through holiday visits, but relocating was different.
“One has completed a master’s degree, and the other continues schooling. The younger one has already embraced life in Ghana fully, while the older remains cautious, weighing career prospects,” she said.
For her, family remains a core anchor. She reflected on her early days in Accra, where she began life as a day student at the Labone Secondary School before becoming a boarder, and how those experiences shaped her resilience. Although she left Ghana young, she said she never lost her connection to home.
Returning as an adult, she comes with not only her children but a solid sense of self forged in the diaspora.
Despite the challenges of adjusting to Ghana’s systems, she has built a support network of like-minded individuals. They are professionals who understand both worlds and have lived abroad, returned, or who simply share a deep desire for a better Ghana.
“Finding the right circle helps. People who think like you, who understand the struggles,” she noted.
Ghana
Today, she defines her living in Ghana as “a quiet, yet impactful life by choice”. Explaining with laughter, “If you don’t go looking for trouble, trouble won’t find you”.
Her days, she described was centred on meaningful work, personal growth, and investing in youth who must navigate life in a rapidly changing Ghana.
PhD
Dr Osei-Pokuaa shared her PhD journey, which she was very happy to have completed at the Nobel International Business School.
Adding that, “it was a difficult and intense reading journey. It is time-consuming, and so you will have to make time. I encourage people who desire to pursue this academic exercise to do so, because if I have been able to, then you can”.
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