Lala Touray is a 20- year-old Gambian award-winning poet, environmentalist, political and human rights activist and a political science major at the University of The Gambia. Hear her in her own words:
“I’m passionate about youth work and community service and I work with other youth leaders to bring about immense change and improvement in different communities. In 2016, I became first runner-up of the Poetry Slam competition organised and aired by the state broadcaster GRTS. I also authored Gambia In Depth, a spoken word that sheds light on issues going on in The Gambia.
I am the founder and CEO of the Kids Community Library Foundation, a foundation I established earlier this year to help school-going and underprivileged children from rural Gambia acquire better reading and writing skills, tour and explore, historic and sacred places to help them have better understanding of all they learn in class, and also create a platform to help school dropouts realise their best potentials.
I love to challenge personal limit and get things done. I was nominated as one of the four finalists for this year’s Africans Rising Anti-corruption Champion Contest. The African countries nominated for the finals are: Kenya, Niger, DRC Congo, and The Gambia. I represent The Gambia and was voted as the 2018 Africans Rising Anti-Corruption Champion.
I’m the new intern at the American Corner. I also serve as the secretary general for Green-Up Gambia, community outreach coordinator for the Gambian Diaspora Healthcare Initiative, and information and communication officer for the African Youth Initiative on Climate Change-Gambian Chapter.
I love writing poetry, working in societies to impact change, mentoring young people like myself, and coming up with new ideas and initiatives all of which can contribute immensely to the sustainable socioeconomic growth of The Gambia.
