That 56 seconds it took me to swim that gold medal win. I looked for that feeling for 30 years and I never found it.

A podcast about the people behind the medals on the podium from the BBC World Service. Find it wherever you get your BBC podcasts.

Hello, I'm James Reynolds. Welcome to the documentary from the BBC World Service. We bring people together to discuss what's happening around the world. This time it's conversations on migrating from Africa.

More than 60 people are feared lost at sea while trying to escape Senegal in search of a better life.

We decided to focus on both skilled and unskilled workers from several countries in Africa to discover the many reasons why they want to leave in some cases illegally and at great personal risk.

I already have siblings. That is one sister and then one kid brother. Do a big girlfriend. I know that I cannot bring children from heaven to hell. That is Ghana. I cannot bring children from heaven to hell.

It is a sad, yet a familiar story. A boat filled with illegal migrants in box on a journey filled with hope. That journey ends in tragedy.

101 people boarded a boat in Senegal West Africa heading for Spain's Canary Islands. But after six weeks at sea, only 38 survivors have been rescued from a shipwreck near the islands of Cape Verde.

We hear from one Senegalese man who failed to escape on a different, earlier attempt, though in his case everyone did survive.

My name is Dudu. I'm a clothesmaker. I live in Caffuntin in Casamoles in Senegal. My family and I lack the financial means to survive.

Which is why I ask myself why not go to Europe? Because I have friends who have been and who are doing well. I need to go to send money back to my mum and my family.

We left on the first day. 140 people in a boat. We left Caffuntin, but after about 600 kilometres, we ran out of fuel. We were arrested in Morocco and then sent home on buses.

People paid between 300,000 and 400,000 Central African francs, which is about 500 to 600 US dollars. But everyone lost their money.

Yes, if I have the chance again, I'll definitely find another boat and do it again. My mother is tired. My father is dead. No, I'm not scared of dying in the ocean. My future is not here. It's in Europe.

Dudu from Senegal, they're giving us a flavour of what people are prepared to risk in order to leave their countries, not because of a direct threat or persecution, but simply to improve their lives, their prospects.

According to UN figures, African migration only accounts for around 14% of the global migrant population, but it's been on a steady upward trajectory for the past two decades, with a 30% increase since 2010.

Although the majority of people are migrating within Africa, there are also many who are looking to move to countries in Europe, Asia and North America.

We'll be hearing from men and women across Africa about why they are planning to emigrate from the continent, starting with three people in their 20s who are either unemployed or in low-paid jobs.

My colleague, LeQuessa Barak, spoke to Daniel, who lives alone in Ghana. He has several part-time jobs.

Lauren's in Kenya. She's a single mother to a young daughter. And Tafzwa is a mother of two in Zimbabwe. We'll hear from her first.

I'd like to live Zimbabwe because we have a lot of challenges that we are facing, so we feel that it's a better opportunity for us to live for foreign countries.

Lauren, what are your thoughts?

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