Education
- Despite facing prejudices and financial difficulties, two twin sisters from Côte d'Ivoire taught themselves French and eventually gained admission to formal schooling.
- With their mother's encouragement, they excelled academically, skipped grades, and became top students in their region.
- They were admitted to a prestigious high school, where they continued to excel and received support from a tutor.
Challenges and Perseverance
- Despite personal struggles, including failing their baccalaureate exam, they persevered and eventually obtained their BTS in Computer Science.
- Unable to pursue their dream of becoming doctors due to financial constraints, they set their sights on working for an international institution.
NGO and Road Safety Advocacy
- Through their volunteer work with Amnesty International, they caught the attention of the director who offered them an opportunity to attend a training program in France.
- Mariam helped a young man from Niger with a project and later created an NGO for road safety in Côte d'Ivoire with her twin sister.
- Mariam was elected Secretary-General of the Global Youth Network for Road Safety and attended a meeting of ministers in Moscow.
- Mariam's NGO focuses on improving road safety around schools and has received recognition and support from various partners.
Entrepreneurship and Kadi Vol
- Mariam and her friend Kadi co-founded Kadi Vol, a business venture, after realizing the challenges of finding employment while working for NGOs.
- Kadi vol is the leading importer of turkeys in Côte d'Ivoire, with over 80,000 turkeys imported annually.
- The company employs 15 young people directly and has partnered with the Animal Training Center in Casablanca, Morocco, to train its employees in poultry farming.
- The French Ambassador and the General Manager of the French Development Agency (AFD) visited Kadi vol's farm in Boaké.
Mariam's Message
- Mariam encourages people to dream, think positively, and not listen to naysayers.
- She believes in the power of positive thinking and prayer and emphasizes that one should not let negative thoughts or beliefs hold them back from achieving their goals.
