Mustapha’s Story: A Dream To Help Others

“I want to thank all of Ashinaga’s supporters for uplifting my ambitions and helping me realise my dream to help others.”

I was born and raised in the remotest village in northern Sierra Leone. I was raised by my mother, a long-time subsistence farmer whose annual income was less than $50, after losing my father during the civil war. 

My mother wished to see me educated and become the person I always wanted to be. I started schooling after a challenging year caused by the devastation of the war, and I was always a hard-working and diligent student. Sadly, in 2011, I lost my mother. This tragedy halted my education as I suddenly became the breadwinner for my household and the sole guardian of my six siblings at the age of 13.  

I have always been passionate about pursuing medicine with the goal of supporting my community with maternal mortality. This is my kokorozashi: a Japanese concept meaning ‘a heartfelt mission in life.’ In 2020, my dreams to become a medical professional and a philanthropist for the less privileged started to become a reality when I won a prestigious scholarship to study biomedical science abroad through Ashinaga. I was closer than ever to realising my kokorozashi. 

My journey with Ashinaga has been nothing short of a blessing. The scholarship has exposed me to an international community, and provided a wide range of opportunities which have motivated me to gain more knowledge and skills so that I can achieve my kokorazashi.  Today, I have access to multiple professional networks, each one helping me develop my academic, professional, and personal skills. 

I am committed to give back to my community. After experiencing the challenges orphaned children faced first-hand – and seeing how other orphans face challenges accessing education, basic social amenities, equality, healthcare and more across Sierra Leone and Africa – I decided to establish the Young Africans Alliance Academy. This is a non-profit organisation which focuses on education, career development, leadership, and social action engagement. To date, we have helped more than 300 dropped-out students gain computer skills and 12 young people get into the best universities in Sierra Leone to study a variety of subjects including nursing, medicine, engineering, and computer science. 

In addition, as part of my kokorozashi, I am working to minimize maternal mortality. I created MedTech Care, a data tracking, storing, and response software program. This can minimize preventable causes of deaths related to maternal mortality as a result of poor healthcare, outreach support, late referrers, lack of emergency response system, traditional birth attendance, illiteracy, unsafe abortion, anaemia, obstetric haemorrhage and obstructed labour in Sierra Leone. 

Upon graduation, I want to use my biomedical science degree to establish a sustainable research institution and a disease control and prevention centre in Sierra Leone. I also want to provide a functioning medical laboratory in collaboration with government institutions and other organisations such as WHO, to improve the healthcare system and its sustainability.  

I believe that by increasing access to a quality healthcare system, I can work towards realising my patriotic desire to contribute to Sierra Leone’s nation-building and make my country truly independent. Sierra Leone is exposed to multiple health dangers and has one of the highest rates of death from malaria, lower respiratory infections, diarrhoea, tuberculosis, stroke, HIV/AIDS and meningitis.  

Thanks to Ashinaga, I can develop my leadership skills, critical thinking abilities, and professional networks. I was once a poor, neglected orphan, but today I feel that I am a valuable member of my community, and a role model for others. I want to thank all of Ashinaga’s supporters for uplifting my ambitions and helping me realise my dream to help others. 

If you would like to support Ashinaga Scholars in the UK, and help the next generation of young leaders for Africa, get in touch with us via partnerships.uk@ashinaga.org