I met the President of Kenya!
He handed me one of the most prestigious awards in the world.
“The best way to predict the future is to create it”- President Abraham Lincoln.
Two of my greatest dreams just came true:
Meeting and exchanging with a president.
Receiving a prestigious Global Award.
All on the same day!
I was honored with the Commonwealth Secretary General’s Innovation Award after my startup emerged among the top 15 innovations from a pool of several thousand submissions across the 56 Commonwealth countries globally.
I was then invited to Kenya to officially receive the award from the President of the Republic of Kenya, H.E. William Ruto, and the Secretary General of the Commonwealth, Rt. Hon Patricia Scotland, in the presence of renowned dignitaries from Kenya and East Africa.
This was a significant moment for me. I made history!
Even now, I am still processing the experience and what it means for the future of my career.
My winning project, e-Mentor, is a solution aimed at harnessing immersive technology to enable internally displaced students in conflict-affected zones across Sub-Saharan Africa to regain access to affordable quality education from safety. I started working on this over 2 and a half years ago, leading to this award.
A firm handshake with President Willliam Ruto
But the most impressive part of the story, for me, is the contrast. Statistically speaking, it is impossible for someone with my background and experiences to achieve these results. Impossible!
I published part of my story on Medium over a year ago. You can read it here to get a glimpse of what I mean.
This award does two main things for me:
It serves as a monumental validation of my vision, thereby opening doors for opportunities that would create significant short, medium, and long-term impact.
It boosts my morale and gives me a spike of assurance that my dreams are valid and that I will achieve them if I keep working hard and doing the right thing EVERY DAY.
When people ask me how I do it, I say": it’s simple, but not easy. It all lies in the things you do on a day-to-day basis. If you do the right thing ALL the time, you WILL end up in the right place. The process is long, daunting, discouraging, and even frustrating. It drains, exploits, and exasperates you.
But those who persevere till the end, get all the rewards.
The process creates the event.
Everyone sees the latter. Few people see and practice the former.
I strongly believe that young people have immense potential which if rightly cultivated, can create impact and change that will have a long-lasting ripple effect. This is why I put together a course called Accessing Global Opportunities which has empowered tens of young Cameroonians whom I am very proud of.
They have gained entry into prestigious fellowships and regularly travel to key conferences on the African continent. I highly recommend this course. Click here, and let’s talk about it.
Do not miss the opportunity to create the process that will lead to your event.
One of the highlights of my trip was meeting and networking with other Sustainable Development Goal leaders across different regions of the Commonwealth, who had equally merged as winners.
It was an opportunity to create cross-border collaborations and work together towards creating a better future for everyone, everywhere. I learned about their cultures, shared stories with them, and taught them about my country and life.
At this point, I am inviting investors, philanthropists, educationists, and volunteers to partner with us as we solve one of the most pressing problems across Sub-Saharan Africa - access to affordable quality education in conflict-affected zones.
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Cheers!