The Saibatu Mansaray Journey

                                                                                                  A Student in Politics  The Saibatu Mansaray Journey had a chance to chat with the President-elect of the student union of the Institute of Public Administration and Management (IPAM). Anthony Sannoh, a 3rd year student pursuing a Bachelor’s Degree in Public Sector Management came out the victor of the...

  The Saibatu Mansaray Journey had a great discussion with fellow physician assistant Hina Mazharuddin, the Executive Vice President for PAs in Virtual Medicine and Telemedicine. In this episode, she shares the value in virtual and telemedicine in today’s unprecedented times and  her work in ensuring physician assistant students are prepared to take on their clinical practice with confidence utili...

All About Change   The Saibatu Mansaray Journey had a great discussion about the big, bad scary word CHANGE with former U.S. Navy pilot and author Sarah Carter. In this episode, this poised life and leadership coach talks to us about the journey of change and encourages us to not see change as that big, bad, scary thing but to embrace it, grow and take that step forward to becoming who you always...

Talking Youth W/ Sierra Leone’s Deputy Minister of Youth TSMJ prioritizes youth empowerment and raising awareness on their current unfortunate circumstances in Africa, but also a hopeful future. Sierra Leone’s youth make up ⅓ of the population but only 50% are literate with 70% unskilled and unemployed. I had the opportunity to sit with the Honorable Deputy Minister of Youth (Cabinet Secretary) wh...

TSMJ has a major global health focus and today, I sat with Dr. Ahmed Al-hassan Sheriff who is one of only a handful of practicing dentists in Sierra Leone. Sierra Leone is a country of 7M people, but yet our pool of dentists equates to no more than 20 all of which reside in the urban area and are general practitioners. Dr. Sheriff and I discuss this health disparity and its impacts on our populati...

Amanatu Thomas has spent the last few years fighting the discrimination against hijabi and niqabi Muslim women in Sierra Leone. Naasu Fofanah a rape survivor and author has been very outspoken about sexual-based violence. Lastly Chernor Bah , a man who considers himself a feminist and prioritizes the health and wellness of our women who have faced varying degrees of trauma but also a man that is a...

The Saibatu Mansaray Journey had an inspiring conversation with Chaplain (Colonel) Khallid Shabazz, the highest-ranking Muslim Chaplain in the military about his challenging journey as a youth and some key decisions he made that shaped his life into the man he is today.  Chaplain Shabazz served as the chaplain during my first deployment to Iraq in 2005-2006, and we both agree those were trying tim...

US-Sierra Leone Bilateral Relations The Saibatu Mansaray Journey was privileged to sit with the US Ambassador to Sierra Leone to discuss the bilateral relationship between the United States and Sierra Leone. Ambassador Maria Brewer enlightened us on several concerted efforts in the health sector, human rights, legal/ correctional sector and her self help fund. Ambassador Brewer has served in Niger...

In light of our youth month, today The Saibatu Mansaray Journey sits with a passionate Ethiopian medical practitioner who has dedicated his profession to public service and for many years his focus has been on maternal and sexual reproductive health. During our chat, we tie poor SRH with maternal mortality and the state of affairs of our teenagers. I highlight stats about the impacts poor SRH has...

Design Your Destiny: Youth Empowerment  This month of The Saibatu Mansaray Journey we focus on one of our many priorities which is our youth. Last month I lost my nephew who was only 25 years old and was an amazing, inspirational young man who valued being a role model to young people especially those who loved football. As a Baylor football player, he embodied teamwork, camaraderie and mentorship...

Saibatu Mansaray a proud hijabi sits with Sierra Leonean born Sister Khadijah Jalloh, a Muslimah, mother of four, wife of a Sheikh and a registered nurse on all things modest Muslimah fashion and the prioritization of our faith. What does being a hijabi mean to you?  You don’t want to miss: Our journey to being modest Muslimahs Holding onto the Deen  Our inexpensive go-to shopping stores and websi...

As our health issues are on the rise globally, Physician Assistants are integral to expanding the workforce thereby increasing access to care. This episode, we chat with a fellow Physician Assistant, Yale’s Assistant Professor Mary Showstark on expanding the healthcare workforce globally in efforts to meet the health demands of individuals and that of our entire society. Mary shares the concerted...

The United States military makes history by commissioning the first Muslimah chaplain Lt Saleha Jabeen. This episode, we chat with India-born Sister Saleha on her journey to becoming the first Muslimah chaplain and the road ahead in the military. She is a strong promoter of inter-religious dialogue and Interfaith bridge-building and was the first Muslim woman at Catholic Theological Union to be el...

As Africans we are keenly aware of the need to increase awareness on mental health; and decrease cultural biases and stigma on mental health. This episode, we chat with Dr. Carol Labor, a Doctor of Public Health whose research is grounded at the intersection of mental health and trauma with over 30 years combined professional experience. After 40 years of living in the United States, Dr. Labor rec...

Medecins San Frontieres (MSF) joins The Saibatu Mansaray Journey to discuss the state of affairs in Mother Africa’s public health.  This episode we chat with Dr. Mark Sherlock, medical program manager for MSF projects in Nigeria, Iraq and Jordan. Mark sheds some light on an orofacial gangrenous infection known as noma that MSF is currently addressing in Africa. This infection has a very high morta...

As we close this month chatting with some fierce women, we sit down with Madam Naasu Fofanah a Sierra Leonean sexual based violence survivor, author, entrepreneur and women’s rights activist to discuss the state of affairs in my home country. Naasu gives us her take on the root cause of sexual based violence in Sierra Leone and her experience as a teenager. Her book Leave it To Naasu, chronicles h...

This month of The Saibatu Mansaray Journey is about the work of some amazing women around the world. This episode we chat with an award winning, internationally trained, dual qualified, experienced and passionate senior midwife and nurse who is working tirelessly to drastically reduce Nigeria’s maternal and neonatal mortality and morbidity rates by 2025. Tolu Adeleke, returns to Nigeria after spen...

This month of The Saibatu Mansaray Journey is about the work of some amazing women around the world. This episode we chat with a young Sudanese woman who at a young age has dedicated her life to empowering women and youth through education. Arwa Ahmed Elnour, believes that education is paramount in the vulnerable and marginalized population and that we all have a role to play in advocating for hum...

This month of The Saibatu Mansaray Journey is about the work of some amazing women around the world. This episode we chat with the highest ranking woman in the United States Secret Service who serves as the Assistant Director for the Office of Protective Operations. Kim Cheatle talks to us about her leadership journey, her personal loss and the importance of prioritizing faith and family. As the f...

Thank you all for tuning into the show! If you want to learn more about what we talked about today, you can visit our website, at  www.saibatumansaray.com.  If you liked the show, please make sure to like and subscribe so you can get new episodes directly onto your phone. But let's keep the conversation going between episodes on The Saibatu Mansaray Journey handles on Facebook,  Instagram , Twitte...

Thank you all for tuning into the show! If you want to learn more about what we talked about today, you can visit our website, at  www.saibatumansaray.com.  If you liked the show, please make sure to like and subscribe so you can get new episodes directly onto your phone. But let's keep the conversation going between episodes on The Saibatu Mansaray Journey handles on Facebook,  Instagram , Twitte...

Thank you all for tuning into the show! If you want to learn more about what we talked about today, you can visit our website, at  www.saibatumansaray.com.  If you liked the show, please make sure to like and subscribe so you can get new episodes directly onto your phone. But let's keep the conversation going between episodes on The Saibatu Mansaray Journey handles on Facebook,  Instagram , Twitte...

Thank you all for tuning into the show! If you want to learn more about what we talked about today, you can visit our website, at  www.saibatumansaray.com.  If you liked the show, please make sure to like and subscribe so you can get new episodes directly onto your phone. But let's keep the conversation going between episodes on The Saibatu Mansaray Journey handles on Facebook,  Instagram , Twitte...

Thank you all for tuning into the show! If you want to learn more about what we talked about today, you can visit our website, at  www.saibatumansaray.com.  If you liked the show, please make sure to like and subscribe so you can get new episodes directly onto your phone. But let's keep the conversation going between episodes on The Saibatu Mansaray Journey handles on Facebook,  Instagram , Twitte...