Meet Olabisi Adekoya
Pain shaped my earliest memories. At age six, I watched my mother – a single parent of five – rise before dawn to run a restaurant, her hands rough from labor but her spirit unbroken. Nonetheless, purpose was taking roots. Education became my North Star, and the only way to rewrite my story. I made a solemn vow to my school dropout mother: ‘Don’t worry, I will be educated all the way.’
While other children played, I found refuge in baking cakes on a sand-filled pot, read the dictionary, exercised my brain with mathematics and sciences. Each day was a step away from poverty and a brick in the foundation of my dreams to become a Philanthropist and Nigeria’s Health Minister in future. Pain struck again when I left for the UK as a teenager, navigating a foreign world alone. The trauma of separation, the weight of ‘adult’ decisions on young shoulders, the cold nights when I questioned everything – these were the crucibles that forged my resilience. A 16 year old girl from a Lagos public school transformed herself working odd jobs, studying and sending money to her parents back home. Through A-Levels and ultimately a PhD in the UK, defying every odd stacked against her gender and background. But pain without purpose is just suffering. My struggles illuminated a profound truth: we can either become casualties of life’s challenges or architects of their solutions. My passion became crystal clear – to be the change-maker I desperately needed in my youth.
Twenty five years plus working in global Biotech and Pharmaceutical companies mastering Clinical Trials and how drugs went from the lab to the market. Finding solutions to diseases for better quality of patients health. From paying it forward through series of medical missions in rural areas in USA, Mexico, Haiti and Ghana it is my privilege to serve humanity and make our world a better place. Where access to quality education and healthcare is every one’s right.
Education didn’t just change my story; it rewrote my destiny. Now, it’s time to pass the pen to others. Join me in The Gambia and we join forces with many passionate personalities to bring joy and light to our people.
Olabisi Adekoya, PhD
Founder, Values of Affordable Education
