My Amazing Journey, From Uganda to the USA

By Surendra Patel

My Amazing Journey From Uganda to USA The Legacy Book is a poignant and inspiring autobiography that delves deep into the remarkable life of the enigmatic Surendra Patel. From humble beginnings in Uganda to soaring triumphs in the USA, this captivating memoir takes readers on an emotional rollercoaster through the highs and lows of an extraordinary existence. With unflinching honesty, the author bares his soul, recounting personal struggles and triumphs, heartaches, and moments of sheer joy. From overcoming adversity and defying odds to embracing love and self-discovery, the journey is one of resilience and transformation. This introspective narrative not only reveals the author's innermost thoughts but also offers invaluable life lessons that will resonate with readers of all backgrounds. The Legacy Book is a testament which proves that the most compelling and beautiful story is the one lived authentically.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Surendra Patel
• Release date: Oct 3, 2023
• ISBN: 9798215991084

Book preview

Chapter 1: A Legacy to Preserve

THE LAKE NAKURU OF Rift Valley covers a surface area of forty-five square kilometers but is one of the most breathtaking sights in Kenya. It is situated by a shore resembling a beach and is home to a plethora of species of birds and marked predominantly by the pink flamingoes that will delicately perch upon its still surface. This site, and others like it, are my family's legacy, and I would like to pay respect to them by writing this book in an effort to immortalize the grand beauty that I have witnessed.

You will get to witness this beauty, too. This book contains pictures of my travels, which you can use to vicariously experience the country. This book will also document the history of my family and the lives that they’ve lived. It will leave traces for future generations to understand their origins.

In the late 1800s and the early 1900s, the British ruled India and East Africa.

The British colonialists ruled India for eighty-nine years — from 1858 to 1947. There was a significant Indian migration to Kenya after they created the protectorate in East Africa in 1895. The protectorate comprised Kenya, with a major seaport in Mombasa; Tanganyika, which had a major seaport at Dar es Salaam; the Islands of Zanzibar, which are now a part of Tanganyika; and the landlocked country of Uganda. Tanganyika is now called Tanzania, and Kampala, the capital city of Uganda, is where my family lived and prospered. Between 1896 and 1902, an estimated thirty-two thousand Indians were recruited to help construct The Uganda Railways, which connected the interiors of Uganda and Kenya to the Indian Ocean port of Mombasa. It was mainly a trade route that, when completed, facilitated the migration of many East Indians, particularly Gujaratis and Punjabis, to East Africa. The migrants often traveled with family members from the same village or caste.

Among them was a visionary: my maternal grandfather, Nathabhai Barberbhai Patel, who started his life afresh in Kenya.

HE WAS BORN IN 1890 in India and migrated to Kenya in 1909. On 16 August 1919, his first Kenyan national passport was issued to him. The migration of this individual became the primary reason my family thrived, and succeeding generations were fortunate enough to pursue educational and professional opportunities in Kenya, the United Kingdom, and the United States of America.

I would also like to mention that it wasn’t until May 5th, 2023, that I first saw pictures of my maternal grandfather. It was a very emotional experience for me, and that’s part of why I want to write this book; I don’t want my great-grandchildren to learn what my wife and I looked like for the first time so late into their lives. If you’re my great-grandchild reading this, I’d like to say hello, and may God bless you and all of your endeavors.

My mother, Kantaben Nathabhai Patel, was born in Kenya on October 6, 1926. She grew up, for the most part, in Nakuru, but when she was only three, she lost her father. This made the early years of her life extremely difficult, and she struggled greatly. She did not get to have an education and was raised mainly by her older brother, Tribhovan Nathabhai Patel, and their relatives. But she returned to India and married my father at that time. The date on which they tied the knot was June 14, 1944. They were both very young. In fact, when my older brother was born, my father was only eighteen years old. Soon after that, I was born too, and together, the four of us moved to Kenya and then finally to Kampala, Uganda. Yes, a lot of traveling was involved, which is precisely why I’d like to write this book.

My father had a strong business acumen and was able to set up a comfortable life for us in Uganda, ensuring that all of our needs were met and that we could avail all of the opportunities that life could present to us. Perhaps his love for my mother furthered his mission to provide for his family in a way that would compensate for the hardship that my mother endured early on in her life.

The story of how I found love in my life is extremely remarkable: In August 1972, political unrest broke out in Uganda, followed by a mass exodus. The self-proclaimed president of Uganda at that time, Idi Amin, ordered the expulsion of all Indians within ninety days. My family was forced to leave, and all assets, along with the business interests my father had so carefully built, were seized by Amin’s army.

At the time, I was pursuing my education in the United States and had two younger sisters back home. My older brother was already in the United States. My family moved back to India while I stayed in the United States until I had completed my education and then started working as an engineer at a manufacturing company called Eaton in Philadelphia. Today, it has a net worth of almost $20 billion, but even back then, it was a massive