Why I Left Kenya Went to Ghana, How I Grew Through It All

In this  personal episode, Zaakirah Nayyar Muhammad — eye cancer survivor, brand strategist, author, and world traveler — shares what the past six months have looked like since leaving Kenya. She opens up about a year of meaningful volunteer work at a Kenyan orphanage, the visa challenges that made long-term living there unsustainable, and the emotional weight of losing an aunt, uncle and her older sister in 2025. From Kenya to Ghana, Zaakirah takes us on her mother's bold solo move, her own 40-day visit to Ghana during Ramadan, and all the cultural, professional, and healing experiences in between.

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Key Topics Covered

• Why Zaakirah and her mother left Kenya after one year
• Mentoring youth at a Kenyan orphanage (public speaking, photography, chess)
• The realities of renewing visas every three months as a long-term traveler
• Her mother's independent move to Ghana and obtaining a Ghana Card
• Traveling to Ghana during Ramadan and celebrating Eid
• The "foreigner tax" and navigating Accra as a returning visitor
• Exploring Ghana: Aburi mountains, Kokrobite Beach, the W.E.B. Du Bois Museum, University of Accra, and a live boxing match
• Speaking at Korle Bu Teaching Hospital's caregiver workshop on Retinoblastoma survivorship
• Meeting African American women building lives and businesses in Ghana
• House-hunting across Kenya and Ghana with real estate company Vaal
• What's next: travel consulting, AI, disability empowerment content

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About the Host

Zaakirah Nayyar Muhammad is a disabled, visually impaired, hard-of-hearing Black American Muslim woman and world traveler who has visited 15+ countries across four continents. Diagnosed at six months old with Retinoblastoma (a rare childhood eye cancer), she wears a prosthetic right eye and hearing aid. She is the author of Seeing Life Through a Different Lens: A Survivor Memoir on Overcoming Adversity, a TEDx speaker, NPR media correspondent, internationally known speaker, and brand cultivating strategist who helps entrepreneurs build their digital intellectual property through AI and authentic storytelling.

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Resources & Links Mentioned

• Seeing Life Through a Different Lens — available on Amazon (paperback, ebook, audiobook) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B081MR9TKP?ref_=pe_3052080_276849420
• TEDx Talk: Seeing Life from a Different Lens https://zaakirahnayyar.com/tedx
• YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@illuminousone
•  Focus Black Oklahoma (NPR affiliate) Media Correspondent: https://bit.ly/fbonprz

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Connect with Zaakirah

• Social media (all platforms): @Illuminousone (I-L-L-U-M-I-N-O-U-S-O-N-E)
• Also searchable as: Zaakirah Nayyar Muhammad

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If You're Interested in Ghana Travel Ghana's independence month is March, and 2027 marks 70 years of independence. Zaakirah is planning a group trip to Ghana — cultural, holistic, healing, and creative. Reach out to get on the list. https://secure.foratravel.com/intake/lMK1OBrjUH https://www.foratravel.com/advisor/zaakirah-muhammad

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The See Life Different Podcast is for Black, Indigenous, and women of color ready to step outside their comfort zone — inspiring you to confidently tell your story, travel the world, and build your brand. Follow, Subscribe, leave a comment and leave a review.