“I am commonly known as Jilanka. I am 19 years old and a graduate of the Gambia Methodist Academy where I studied Arts. I decided to focus on Arts because of my interest in Development Studies.
I got involved in youth activism after my admission at the SOS Hermann Gmeiner Upper Basic School in 2008. While studying there I got involved with School clubs, child rights organisations, women and girls’ rights movements. I also did volunteering with the Gambia Red Cross Society from 2009 until 2011.
In March 2013, i was part of a delegation that represented The Gambia in the model UN Conference in the USA and was also nominated in June 2014 by my school to take part in the Global Young Leaders Conference (GYLC) that was held in the USA. My role model is my mother. She gave me the chance to get the best education and the best training as a teenager growing up. She is not only my greatest friend but my greatest supporter”.
Words by Sise Sawaneh
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