Real life stories

I remember playing with my childhood mates in the swampy area of the village, we gathered to play games, even play football, city life eluded us and it was a distant dream for all of us. We were so young and innocent from the elusive world.

But then maturity comes by and we set out for our individual dreams, either by bus, by plane or through the Mediterranean Sea, all alone and with our dreams.

I was raised and brought up from an extended family. Struggling for your daily life keeps you equalising the scores always. Both my parents were farmers and lived from hand to mouth and I had to do some services for others or grow some vegetables to be able to pay school fees for myself. Life continued like that as I struggled with school and making ends meet till I obtained my diploma in information processing. I was so young then, and with a desire to read and obtain lots of higher qualifications, but I was handicapped by the financial constraints, so I decided to look for a job as a trainee at the country’s examinations centre to conduct school leaving examinations.

The salary was so meagre that I couldn’t support my family while saving for future education, so I decided to sell firewood as a second source of income and use that money to go to school. Circumstances stole away my childhood dream as I kept struggling for my daily life and supporting my family back at the village.

As the years pass by, my mom and dad are getting older, and the need to stand and support them is getting stronger. I have to forgo some of my savings to support their good health by paying hospital bills.

We face challenges either at school, work or any other career or destinations; some of us triumph while others fail the challenges. Along the road in a distant world you try to connect with the family back home to see if they are well, share your problems and try to seek for wisdom from them. It’s the bone of solidarity and unity. Love can be found anywhere, irrespective of colour or race, and yet still we maintain our direction and the goal we set.

Ismaila, 32, from Gambia