‘Giving back’ through mobility trajectories: motivations for engaging in development encounters in Ghana among transnational youth

Abstract

Literature on diaspora engagement in development activities has centred on the contributions of migrating adults to the 'homeland', which range from private transfers to single households, to community development projects. While such studies often focus on the impact of such activities on the country of origin, relatively few have focused on what transpires during development encounters and how this affects migrants', and especially young people's, motivation to engage transnationally over time. This paper combines migration and development, transnational migration studies and second generation 'returns' literature, to address these gaps. It studies the motivations of transnational youth to engage in development encounters, which they referred to as 'giving back', in the context of their mobility trajectories. Drawing on 17 months of multi-sited ethnographic fieldwork in the Netherlands and accompanying young people during trips to Ghana, we show that giving back contributes to a sense of purpose that connects them transnationally. Young people's expectations of giving back were embedded in community narratives, which framed this as a means to 'become successful' in culturally valued ways. While young people sometimes encountered unexpected surprises, emotions experienced during development encounters led to learning that ultimately resulted in enhanced intentions of transnational engagement.

Transnational migrants' philanthropy: Its forms, operations, and implications from the perspectives of Ghanaian residents in Europe

“…When you stop sending to them, they will call you and remind you “kai fie (remember home) and even warn you that if you stop caring, they will stop considering you as a part of the family” (Interview NM9). These results confirm migrants giving back to maintain a sense of feeling connected to the home country, thereby avoiding potential social sanctions (Simoni and Voirol, 2021 ; Akom-Ankobrey et al, 2022 ; Drouhot et al, 2022 ).…”

“…These countries have also been cited as major migration destinations for Africans [International Organization of Migration (IOM), 2017 ]. There is abundant evidence that Ghanaian migrants in the three studied European countries maintain ties to their homeland through remittances and travel (Idemudia and Boehnke, 2020 ; Ogden and Mazzucato, 2021 ; Akom-Ankobrey et al, 2022 ). We chose Ghana for this research because of the absence of a trusted framework on transnational migrant philanthropy in Ghana and limited knowledge on their philanthropic activities (Kumi, 2019 ).…”

“…Migrant philanthropy enables some migrants to build and sustain their transnational identities to their own or family birthplace (Lacroix, 2016 ; Akom-Ankobrey et al, 2022 ). Migrant philanthropy consists of all benevolent acts such as charitable donations, gifting, giving back and volunteering for a common good (Schuyt, 2013 , p. 26; Drouhot et al, 2022 ).…”

“…For about a century, transnationalism has predominated in Ghanaians' international migration studies (Awumbila et al, 2011 ), but scarcely about Ghanaian migrants' philanthropic activities. As a result, this article also applies the concept of transnationalism to show Ghanaian migrants' connections across national boundaries through “giving back” activities (e.g., Akom-Ankobrey et al, 2022 ). A transnational lens helps differentiate “below” social relations, movements, and realities based on migrants' perspectives from “above” globalization by corporations or states (Guarnizo and Smith, 1998 ).…”

Transnational youth mobility: new categories for migrant youth research

“…More recent studies looking beyond the lens of identity and belonging have found that trips ‘home’ allow young people to accrue transnational resources that help them to increase their educational resilience in the countries where they reside (van Geel and Mazzucato 2018 ) and to develop self-confidence and aspirations for the future (Anschütz and Mazzucato 2021 ). Travel ‘home’ has these effects on youth with a migration background due to what they learn about their roots and their culture, the ways they are treated by local populations who express pride in them, the insights they gain when they compare their situation with the poverty they see around them, or the experiences they have of luxurious spaces that are normally not accessible to them in their residence country (Akom Ankobrey, Mazzucato, and Wagner 2021 ; Anschütz and Mazzucato 2021 ; Gardner and Mand 2012 ; Hoechner 2020 ; van Geel and Mazzucato 2020 ; Wagner 2019 ).…”