To support her visa application, Susan had to provide proof of how she was going to pay for her studies. This was a difficult challenge to overcome because she couldn’t afford to pay for her Master’s degree programme herself and had to find a friend or relative who was willing to present his or her bank statements to support her application. After much persuasion from her mum, Susan’s uncle (her mum’s older brother) agreed to give her his bank statements to use as proof to the consular section at the British High Commission that she could afford to pay for her Master’s degree since he was supposed to be sponsoring her studies in the United Kingdom. Her uncle ran his own business, importing used cars from the United States to Ghana and selling them on so he had quite a substantial amount of money going through his account and a healthy bank balance that showed that he could afford to pay for her studies. The real plan was that she was going to work when she arrived in London to pay her way through her studies. Susan’s dad had unfortunately passed away during her third year in secondary school, leaving behind Susan, her younger brother, sister and her mum. After bidding her mum and siblings a tearful farewell at the Kotoka International Airport in Accra and a six-and-a-half-hour flight, she arrived at Gatwick Airport, bubbling with excitement at arriving in the UK. She had to wait for an extra three and a half hours at the arrival hall before her aunt, Tina finally showed up. Well, Aunt Tina was not exactly a blood relation but a good friend of her uncle whose bank details were used in acquiring her student visa. In Ghana, culturally, older family friends and even acquaintances had their names prefixed with the title ‘Aunty’ or ‘Uncle’ as a sign of respect. Susan was to stay with Aunt Tina until she found her way around town and got a bit more used to the lay of the land, in terms of how things worked within the UK system...