Diaspora stories is a newsletter series by Send App where we chat with someone from the diaspora and explore what life abroad really feels like, from the wins, the challenges, and the little things that keep us going. This Month, we spoke with globetrotter, Amaka.

Touring the continents of the world is an ambition for dreamers. Especially when this dream is at the backdrop of steep geographical barriers that your *___(fill the blank)___* predisposes you to. Amaka is a dreamer, and her thousands of followers on social media have been spectators of the dream life she’s building for herself. 

Literally, she manifests and goes hard on her dreams and repeats this sequence. It works all the time, or most times. It worked when she dreamt of travelling the world.

Meet Amaka, the Traveller 

Before the viral Instagram reels of her travel expeditions, before her recent Europe tour, and the many passport stamps that preceded it, there was the very beginning, which wasn’t postcard worthy as she described.

In 2019, Amaka was working full-time in Lagos, earning just above minimum wage. She knew she wanted to see the world, but money was non-existent. So when the opportunity to tag along on a work trip to Ghana presented itself, Amaka took it. It wasn’t glamorous — just a road trip to Ghana with a car not exactly roadworthy. It was her first time leaving Nigeria. Rugged, like many firsts. But that trip changed everything.

Collecting Passport Stamps 

What started as a single road trip eventually became an insatiable hunger to see the world. She didn’t have travel funds waiting for her. She had to create space for it, just like she did for everything that currently works in her life. But creating space is Amaka’s thing - she’s a dreamer. Dreamers create space. 

“I didn’t start travelling because I had money. I travelled because I wanted to. The desire came first. The planning came after,” she says.

In just a few years, Amaka has built up the capital to visit 25 countries and pass through over 30 airports. Some trips were made possible through smart route-mapping and budget flights; others by splitting costs with friends or timing visits during off-peak seasons. The logistics are often complex, but the movement itself? Non-negotiable.

“I’m always chasing new air,” she says.

Going on a Tour isn’t Commonplace. Please. 

In early 2025, Amaka embarked on a nine-country Europe tour that would become the start of her content series, #OntheMovewithAmaka. The name is personal because the reason behind the tour is very personal. Amaka describes the tour as a rebellion.  

“2025 started with my boat getting rocked like. All the things that gave me stability got under threat, and I felt like I needed to do something. So the trip for me was an act of rebellion.”

More Than a Travel Girl

With On the Move, Amaka didn’t just document her tour, she stayed true to her ethos to keep moving regardless of what life throws at you. To invent something from anything, including chaos.

Amaka has never stood still; her slew of businesses tells us this, along with her socials, where she documents her life in elegant detail. Life moves to her rhythm. “I have different businesses in beauty, travel, and fashion. I have a wig brand that I have run and owned since 2016. Then I sell a bunch of things for retail like swimwear, active wear.” 

She’s a business woman. Some people jokingly call her Amaka and Sons. Staying true to this serial entrepreneurial spirit, Amaka launched Voyagers two years ago, a travel-focused business, to plan trips for other people like her looking to see the world.

Money is for Making Memories

Back to Europe. One of Amaka’s most memorable moments of the Europe tour was visiting Luxembourg; she walked the whole country on foot. Then Paris: Disneyland, precisely. Going to the epicentre of your core childhood memories, and spending €28 on a headband is kind of absurd frivolity, you only regret in theory. “I was like, bro, they should not hear this back home. My ancestors should not hear this,” she said. 

Then Paris again. There, she took the pictures that would become the frames that play back this entire tour. 5 of those pictures cost €25, costly if you consider Nigeria’s exchange rate, but justified when you hear the excitement in Amaka’s voice as she describes how great the pictures turned out.  

This tour didn’t allow her to enjoy her favourite travel pastime: booking the most beautiful hotels, because she only got to spend an average of 48 hours in each city. It would have been a waste. 

Who is Counting? 

England, Scotland, Albania, Montenegro, Paris, Belgium, Luxembourg, Austria, Netherlands.

I toured nine countries in Europe and visited 13 cities. I passed through 7 airports and 16 train stations. I carried three suitcases and one backpack. I exchanged three travel buddies along the way and countless outfits.

What Comes Next? 

Five months into 2025, Amaka had already visited 9 countries in a single region. She says she’s finally ready to rest. “Unless South Africa happens later this year with my friends, I think I’m done for now”.

And yet, the itch is still there. When asked where she dreams of touring next, she doesn’t hesitate: Asia. “But I want to plan it like I did Europe, intentionally. No rush. I want to do it right.”

Fact Check: Days after our conversation with Amaka, she was off vacaying in Togo and Benin. 

“I don’t know if I’ll ever stop moving. But I do know this: travel is never about the country. It’s about coming home to yourself in a different place.” Amaka Amaku, our very own traveller. 

Move with Amaka is the latest feature in our "Letters from the Diaspora" newsletter. It's our second published story, and you can catch our first story here. It’s about Moji, who helped half of her colleagues relocate from Nigeria to Canada and built a community from scratch using Google Sheets.