Port of Harlem magazine is proud to announce that Saikou Suwareh Jabai is one of ten young Gambians in the United States for The Mandela Washington Fellowship for Young African Leaders 2023 program.

It was Jabai’s father, Suwareh Jabai, whose question to Port of Harlem publisher Wayne Young in 2001: “Why don’t I see any African-American Peace Corps workers or other African-Americans working to develop The Gambia?” that got us to start the Port of Harlem Gambian Education Partnership in 2002.  

Fellows are selected by the embassies in their home countries. The U.S. Mission to the African Union also sends five fellows. “Uncle, I am part the five fellows the African Union selected,” reported Jabai.

The six-week program has three Leadership Institutes: Business, Civic Engagement, and Public Management. Jabai will study Leadership in Civic Engagement. The program will expose the fellows to civic engagement in the United States while building technical and leadership capacity in areas such as advocacy, strategic planning, organizational development, and the intersection of civil society with business and government.

Twenty-seven U.S. educational institutions in 20 states and the District of Columbia will host the Leadership Institutes for the approximately 700 in the 2023 program. Jabai is studying at the University of Georgia in Athens. After the Leadership Institutes, fellows will participate in a summit in Washington, DC.

The Mandela Washington Fellowship program is the flagship program of the U.S. Government’s Young African Leaders Initiative (YALI). YALI was created in 2010 by the Barack Hussein Obama administration. Established in 2014, the Fellowship has brought nearly 5,800 young leaders from every country in Sub-Saharan Africa to the United States for the training. The Fellows, between the ages of 25 and 35, are accomplished innovators and leaders in their communities and countries.

Just in the last issue of Port of Harlem we featured Mandela Fellow Momodou Inkeh Bah in “Environmentalists Prevail Over Dispute to Build New US Embassy near Monkey Park, The Gambia.” Our Facebook readers will often encounter exchanges with another Fellow, Alhasan Bah.  We also featured Bah in the story, Alhasan Bah– An Active Activists.

While creating new memories in Athens, Jabai recalls “amazing memories of my childhood” when Young and sometimes his fellow readers/travelers would visit their home in Nema Kunku. He says he cherishes, “our family welcoming you with open arms and cooking traditional food recipes for you. And, your bringing us toys and providing a platform for letter exchanges between us and folks in America.” 

POHGEP continues to provide these bridging opportunities.  And, we are glad that many readers participate in our Gambian projects.