Akello-Hofmann’s new book “Drudgeries For Feat” helps immigrants identify opportunities in a new country

Lock down regulations in several countries has given many writers and authors the opportunity to start or finish their work.
For serial entrepreneur Beatrice Akello-Hofmann, it was neither – her book was complete at the end of 2019 but the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic came with several challenges that hindered all publication plans.

The lock down period in Germany gave her the opportunity to perfect her new book “Drudgeries for Feat” and transform it to a master piece that everybody is going to enjoy reading. She was assisted by several editors including Amina Chitembo, the founder and Chief Publishing Officer of Diverse Cultures Publishing (UK) and David Oula. Chitembo is a strong entrepreneurial and inspirational leader who has worked with authors around the globe. In addition to helping others to tell their stories through books, she is a PhD researcher in Inclusion in Leadership, while Oula is a Ugandan Creative Writer/Film Maker and management lecturer.

The book provides an account of the author’s life – that puts forward her story easily and spontaneously about various situations she went through in her native Uganda and Germany where she has now lived for 21 years. Over those years of resilience, determination and hard work she has become a well-respected businesswoman, actress and author in a system that indiscriminately treats migrants like second-hand citizens.
Many of her experiences are generally faced by many African migrants. She decided to raise her voice through an exciting narrative of her past and present situation because many migrants fear to speak openly about their experiences.

“I desired to write something new, something in the spirit and accent of a black female in Germany against its mighty force, its grand energy and power, its resentment against my black body, I decided to raise my voice and explain my reactions to exploitation, discrimination, unfair treatment and various situations that molded me to who I am today. All these circumstances evinced the need to write this book with a purpose – to highlight a race-conscious struggle against institutional racism and discrimination.”

This book comes at a time when there is an explosion of migration in recent years – despite the repressive anti-migrant policies in force in Europe. This is explained largely due to political instability and civil conflicts in the Middle East, and North Africa.
Gruesome scenes of capsized boats and migrants stranded at borders and camps have dominated recent international news headlines. These heartbreaking images have become symbolic of the everyday dangers and death that migrants and refugees face. The carnage across the seas and oceans is reflected by the death of tens of thousands of people desperately fleeing their native countries. Those who make it across usually fail to capitalize on opportunities presented by host countries and lack firm understanding of the challenges and obstacles migrants face while trying to integrate and assimilate in their host communities. This book will provide readers with valuable insights on how to identify and take advantage of any available opportunities.

In this book Akello-Hofmann reassures readers that black cultures around the globe are powerful and central in their own right, and cant be measured against to or compared with European cultures.
“I wanted to assure diaspora cultures, all refugee populations that there is a culture, a space, a place where we inhabit, that we don’t need to assess the world against where we came from, or where we are now or how well we have integrated. I have been a vocal supporter of immigration reform in Europe that’s why I always criticize and oppose policies of NGOs in Germany who fail to put migrants interests ahead of their own” she said. “This book proves that migrants can have an unapologetic voice, and create a world view that enriches and embraces the world that allows us freely claim and celebrate our experiences good or bad”, she added.

Black incarceration, a racialized police force, and structural racism continue to impinge upon black lives not only in America but also in Europe and many countries. It is true that all lives matter, but it is equally true that not all lives are seen to matter which is exactly why it is most important to name the lives that have not mattered, and are struggling to matter in the way they deserve. Being a black woman, an immigrant, and single mother made life more difficult for Akello-Hofmann in Germany, however, amidst all obstacles, she prevailed because for her, failure was no option, her desire to become financially independent was a matter of life and death.
She made a brave decision, quit her job and this in a way triggered her desire to start up her own business.

Akello-Hofmann discovered her personal entrepreneurial competencies at an early age when she started her first business in a Kampala suburb of Nsambya. These are competencies she used to fight her way up through a complex matrix system and achieve what many immigrants can only dream off. She attributes her strong personal attributes to her father and elder brother, “they played important roles in shaping my life in Uganda and these later helped my forge for myself a life in Germany”, she added.

The exciting and insightful book presents a story that everyone will want to read whether you are an immigrant already settled in a host country, a person planning to leave your native country or even the relatives sitting at home waiting for financial aid and benefits from the diaspora. Anyone who reads this book will understand that people who go outside their native countries in search of “a better life and opportunities” face a lot of challenges.

Akello-Hofmann is an active entrepreneur, she is the CEO and founder of ecommerce platform, Sokoni Links; founder and owner of Nulife Professional-Wellness, a company she started in 2010, receiving the upcoming Entrepreneur Award 2015 of the African Women in Europe in Geneva was testament of her hard work and success of her business. She is also the co-founder of the Free University in the City of Oberhausen. She has also written/co-authored the African immigrant’s ‘handbook’: The Perfect Migrant: How to Achieve a Successful Life in Diaspora.

In addition, she is a public speaker and has led and contributed to public seminars including:

• “How Long Does One Remain a Migrant” Project Development for School and Government Institutions / Participant at Forum d ’Avignon
• “Opportunity and Prosperity for All (for African Migrants and Entrepreneurs)” – Seminar developed and introduced at Advocate Europe, Citizens Lab and Social Impact Lab

Her journey is a real-life testimony that hard work pays, it is proof that immigrants can build successful lives in foreign countries if they have purpose and direction. Immigrants and non-immigrants alike will find her book “Drudgeries For Feat” empowering and rewarding, it will guide them through a broad spectrum of valuable tips and lessons that teach everyone that success is not just handed to you when you reach abroad or just looks for you like many people think but instead comes from a combination of several factors that you will all find in this book. Enjoy the book and recommend it to others.

The book is available in both English and German.