Travis Van Winkle Instagram – ~On this International Women’s Day, I celebrate ABY SARR~
Aby is a @buikdOn Trek Leader guiding teams through Senegal to build schools in some of the most under-served communities in the world. I had the honor to be lead by her this last November and was moved by her story.
She grow up in a rural area named Kam-Diack, where going to school was not the most important thing, especially for little girls. Not to mention access to education was basically non-existent and ‘if’ there was a school close enough to attend, boys had first dibs.
Aby’s mom passed away when she was young, so she was raised by her father and grandmother. They insisted Aby attend school and made sure she had her own book, which was a huge privilege as most kids had to share or simply didn’t have one. She would stay with her grandmother during the week for school and travel to stay with her dad, who was working as a plumber in Dakar, on weekends and school holidays.
In Dakar, she would always see this lady named Ndeye that lived in her Dad’s building, who was a journalist and drove a really nice car. Aby was so inspired by her and dreamed to become like her one day; an educated woman with a purpose in the world beyond the traditional roles women played in Senegal.
The truth is, there was a tremendous pressure for women to drop out of school to help their families and most of her female friends didn’t make it past primary school. It is very common for women to get married young and raise kids, but her father and grandmother wanted more for Aby. Her dad would always point to Ndeye and say to Aby “If you keep going in school and if you believe in yourself, you can become like her.” So she did just that.
Now Aby is not a journalist like she once dreamed, but she is happy and thriving in her current position and is surely a LEADER OF WOMEN! My favorite part of her story… Aby is now the shining example for little girls just like Ndeye was for her so many years ago and is PAYING IT FORWARD everyday. Aby tells all the girls she meets in these rural communities, “Get knowledge because knowledge gives you power.”
Aby ( @spark_guide ) I’m inspired by you!
📸 @photog_in_flops | Posted on 09/Mar/2023 00:28:34
