What Does it Mean to Belong? Life is Not Always Black & White.

What Does it Mean to Belong? Life is Not Always Black & White.

Growing up mixed race, in London in the 90's, the word 'belonging' was one that was always present... Moving to Australia with my husband and children was no different! Some people have asked me how I feel about leaving my family and moving to the other side of the world. I have different feelings each [...]

1,000 Reads, 290 Visits and 20 Posts Later!

Jallohs Number... Let us start by saying a big THANK YOU to all of YOU, who have made this possible, from ALL the Jallohs in OZ. When we toyed with the idea of starting a blog, we questioned whether it would get any traction. Are we interesting enough people for the world? Would our blog [...]

Week Four – The Highlights

This week has been as busy as ever; here are some of the highlights. Homeschooling, job hunting, house hunting, blogging and art were standard activities each day and having this routine is working well. Home hunting: we went to look around a few more homes, this time we looked at some Hallmark home properties. We [...]

Tah Tah For Now… Saying Goodbye to Colleagues, Friends and Family(AJ)

The London Jallohs... Plus a Frampton! Family This was the hardest part for me, saying goodbye to my younger brother. Ever since we were little, we have been in close proximity of each other. When we were in the village in Africa we looked out for each other; we travelled to the city, we looked [...]

Our First Week in Australia in Pictures (27 February – 5 March – RJ)

We made it! We arrived safe and sound after a 23 hour flight; we are in high spirits and excited for the next chapter. We were met at the airport by Ahmed's sisters, niece and cousin (I soon came to find out from Ahmed that their mums are friends and in his culture, this makes [...]

Travelling with a child living his best life… oh and he has ADHD and hydrocephalus!

Photography by Ruth Jalloh, February 2019, Stockwell, London. Look past the rain and you will see the real beauty The thought of travelling for 23 hours with a child with superpowers (also known as additional needs) made me feel like the Meh, Emoji! it was neither a negative nor a positive feeling... it just was. [...]

It’s official, he has Super Powers – My son’s diagnosis (Hydrocephalus and ADHD!)

My son was born on 24 February 2009 after 2 years of trying for a baby. My perfect and much longed for baby boy was here, he was perfect, still is and always will be! He is our second child, his clever, artistic and funny sister was born when we were just 18 years old [...]

Last Days in London – Packing for Australia in 16 Boxes and 30 Bin Bags (RJ)

Boxes, boxes and more boxes We started packing slowly; We decided to take it in stages. This helped us to remember bits and bobs, as we went, and to think about what we did not need to take with us. Packing Stage 1: The first stage was to sort through our belongings. Throw out anything [...]

Ruth: Telling friends and family the good news (S190 Visa granted)

Telling friends and family in the UK didn't go as planned. In fact, I was surprised as to how some people took the news, which broadly fell into four categories. Category One: People that were genuinely happy for us. This was the reaction I was expecting the most. Some friends, family and colleagues were happy [...]