My journey so far

“I live to seek knowledge, to find answers and help others grow. Indeed, I am inspired by how a small gesture makes a significant difference to someone else’s life!”

I have grown more in the last 2 years than I did in the last 20! How's that even possible? - one may ask. Some stories should be told, you never know if there is someone out there who can gain a thing or two from it.

"But you are a scientist!" "I can't see you doing anything else." "When I think of immunology, you are the first person that I think about." "I know you, you are that Dr." - this is how I have been labelled....people have this perception and one can be restricted if they also make too much of what people's expectations are, and notrealizing that the world is indeed 'your oyster' as they say. It is what you make of it.

Perhaps the first turning point was when I attended a women's group meeting. The moderator wanted to know of challenges we face as Gambian women. I raised my hand and she seemed surprised. She then said, "Some of you are already successful, you have your PhD....we want to know what are the challenges women in our communities are facing" ....I did not know what to say so I just stared at her stunned. It made me realise that because some of us rarely discuss how we got somewhere, a rosy picture is painted and hurdles are never mentioned. Having a PhD is only the beginning!

Perhaps I should mention how I trembled during my viva...although not evident to the examiners. I was running a fever as they grilled me for hours on end. Phew...thankful for 'Janeway's Immunobiology' - I was prepared for their questions. The mock viva I had two weeks prior with two amazing postdocs at the unit also helped substantially. I passed my viva successfully but had 5 pages of corrections to make. That was not the cause of my fever- I was experiencing yet another miscarriage! 

We as women must acknowledge that our journey is different....there are things that only we experience and vice versa. This was not the first and certainly not the last. As I completed my corrections, I despaired over my maternal health and wondered whether I would ever be able to have another child. My daughter was already 7/8, I had put off having more children because of my career, now it was becoming almost impossible. The deadline to submit my corrections was closing in, and I knew one thing for sure, I was not going to rush things and submit something incomplete. I will only submit when I felt ready- I needed an extension and I was going to request for one. If I needed more time to work at my pace given the 'noise' , I would request for it. The degree coordinator was very supportive and facilitated everything with a lot of encouragement. I heard all sorts of rumours as I became a recluse pushing to submit and take care of my health. But I was too focused on getting that degree certificate and that baby! In 2018, I got my certificate and gave birth to the most beautiful baby boy whom we named after the prophet Muhammad (PBUH).

Every time I achieved something, it seemed as though the journey was only just beginning. Now what next? All the postdoctoral opportunities I had meant having to leave not only home but Africa. This was not what I wanted- I made a decision to return home for a reason. Now what next? I had a very young baby now in the equation. I reached out to amazing mentors. Some I knew well, others I we never crossed paths. The thing that really struck me was how each and every one of them went out of their ways to provide support, guidance mentorship. They did not want anything in return, that scientific comradeship, that selflessness- it just gives me hope! With this network I carved out, they guided me to write a stellar proposal and supported my application for a very prestigious fellowship. The fellowship would allow me to continue to conduct research and I get to decide which of Africa's Centres of Excellence to do it at. My application was shortlisted! Hoorah- this is what I wanted right? As the deadline neared, I was now expecting another baby! An opportunity also presented itself- how about writing a proposal to start a science and technology innovation hub with the country's leading tech company? Why not? I deferred my fellowship application, I needed to see the pregnancy and the innovation hub through- I seemed to be always doing things in 'twos'!

As I climbed those stairs, I was not prepared for what was to come. It is an understatement to say I met some of the youngest but indeed brightest minds that Gambia has to offer! They were designing amazing software from scratch to provide solutions in the healthcare, finance and education sectors. As I waited for the next baby to arrive, I was able to contribute to some of the work they were doing- using transferable skills such as analytics, data science, proposal writing , conducting market research, management skills etc. I was able to do some of these from home, and even abroad whilst spending some time in Senegal. In this sector, I yet again discovered amazing mentors and partners. A team I impacted but they have no idea how they have also impacted my journey. Their brilliance, creativity, innovation but also genuine nature really stood out. We achieved a lot together and contributed to both the private and public sector in a short period of time. 

This coincided with the BLM movement and George Floyd's death. My daughter came into the living room crying. "I don't want to go abroad for university. Have you heard of George Floyd?" - mind you she was only 11 at the time. This struck a chord with me. I thought to myself how can I make a real difference? Why should we have to leave to attend universities or seek medical treatment? Can I contribute more than writing a paper or two? It got me thinking.....

Did not have much time to ponder on this....the Coronavirus pandemic hit hard! I was now starting to feel the guilt of not wanting to use my immunology skills to join the fight against covid. I started reading about the virus, had interesting research questions and great opportunities to now explore these...

What do I do now? I had to do a lot of soul-searching and spoke to my trusted mentors. I don't want to let down my academia buddies- hey my colleagues are making amazing contributions to the fight. My passion? I can still explore this in many ways (sshhh). Tech? There's a mountain of data that we're sitting on and is untapped, I can use my background to leverage on data science and biotechnology. I even started learning some programming languages and I am amazed at some similarities with stata and R.

As I start a new journey, I start not 'from scratch but from experience'. For the mentors who have been with me all the way you have moulded me into who I am today and guided me when I needed it the most. Deciding to not pursue what we started doesn't mean time was wasted but I have learned a lot during the whole process. For the leaders who offered me opportunities, how grateful I am that we crossed paths and have gained valuable lessons from our interactions. I inspire to be like you all, to be able to guide, coach, lead and inspire, especially for women in STEM. We have a vision, I cannot say where I will be in 10 years time, but I am sure of one thing- I am here now and I am going to give it all I have. Join us as we leave our footprint and InSIST on making a Global impact!