ODUNAYO ADEYEMI, 36 – NIGERIA

Family bible

This Bible belonged to my father. It is the only thing I have left of him and of the place that was my home.

It makes me feel like whatever happens, I’m not alone. In my darkest days I’ve been able to reach out and touch it and feel that my dad is with me.

It is so precious. My dad was a pastor when he was alive. I was struggling with life in Lagos when a colleague offered me the chance to come to the UK but when I got here I realised things weren’t how they said they would be. I was a victim of trafficking.

I thought I was coming to the UK for a better life, but things didn’t work out like I thought they would. When I managed to get help, things were still difficult. I was sofa-surfing for a while and I was the victim of a racially motivated attack. The Bible came from the UK in the beginning. It first belonged to Pa S.G Elton, a British missionary in Nigeria. My father trained under him as a missionary too and received the Bible from him. My father must have had it over 54 years ago, as he made a note of a Bible passage he read in 1968. Now, I am in the UK. I got my refugee status in July 2021 and now I live in south-east London. Of course, it was a relief but I’m not there yet, I have good and bad days.

I just want to make a better future – a peaceful one.

In my darkest days I reach out and touch it and feel that my dad is with me