Ghanaian Man Who Was Selected For The Mandela Washington Fellowship Shares His Experience

A young Ghanaian man named
Pln. Jalil Ali Mahama has shared how he was selected for the
Mandela Washington Fellowship on LinkedIn, read his post below:

At the final selection interview for the Mandela Washington Fellowship, I was asked if I had any political ambitions. This was on a lighter note by the way.

I told the panel about a story that has helped me immeasurably. And it’s from a book titled ‘The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse’ by Charlie Mackesy.

In the book, a boy was in the woods with a horse and says to the horse ‘’I can’t see my way through’’. And the horse says, can you see your next step? He answers Yes! And the horse says, just take that.!!

I explained that, sometimes, you do not need to see the end to start the journey. Have a vision and just keep taking those individual steps. You’ll be amazed how far you go.

Weeks later, I got an email congratulating me on my selection for this prestigious fellowship. This was out of the over 4,000 applications received from Ghana alone with only 32 slots available.

Many thanks to the U.S Embassy, Ghana for believing in my story, to IREX and the U.S. Department of State for selecting me, and to the Michigan State University and all our wonderful facilitators for the life-changing experience. I am officially a proud #Spartan

I also express my gratitude to the City of East Lansing and the City of Lansing, Michigan for hosting us.

Over the last two months, I’ve met really outstanding Young African Leaders doing great stuff in their communities and home countries. I dare say that the future of Africa looks very bright if these young people get the right opportunities to serve.

After this invaluable experience and the caliber of networks we have made, I can only say that ‘Victory is Certain’.

I encourage other young leaders to apply for the next 2023 cohort.