My baggage to and from Oxford – Wilsona Jalloh
We asked our scholars to go back to the moment they packed their luggage in preparation for their journey to Oxford. But instead of clothes and books, we asked them to think about the stories, people, memories, hopes, and all immaterial things that they would put inside. We also wanted to know what they would probably like to add to their baggage when leaving Oxford. Find other stories in this series here.
Wilsona and family
Growing up, the university of Oxford felt like this abstract place I could only dream of, given my socio-economic background and my country’s weak education system. When I received an offer from Oxford alongside a fully funded scholarship from the Weidenfeld-Hoffman Trust, it was a truly magical moment of an impossibility made possible.
As thrilling as this opportunity was, it meant leaving my family and familiar territories and venturing into a new one which was both exciting and worrying. The COVID-19 pandemic heightened the anxiety associated with this endeavor especially for those of us coming from ‘red list’ countries. We had to quarantine for 10 days in a UK government manned hotel and were restricted to about 20 minutes’ walk at a designated area in the complex each day. For some, the challenge was feeling restricted and a violation of their freedom; for others, it was the quality of the food provided which was very poor.
Through all of this, the baggage I carried kept me going. I was raised in Sierra Leone through civil war, Ebola outbreak, flooding and mudslides by a single mother who could hardly provide for my three older siblings and myself. If it was not for my mother’s hard work and sacrifices, I would have been uneducated like many of the other Sierra Leonean children.
My latest work was with the President’s Human Capital Development Incubator which is testing ideas for tackling poor literacy and numeracy, maternal mortality and food security in Sierra Leone. I believe every child, irrespective of where they were born, has the right to quality education, good health care, food and shelter. This baggage is what drives my interest in public policy formulation and implementation after seeing first-hand how the lack of opportunities can be detrimental to the future of young people.
During my time at Oxford, I hope to build lasting relationships and acquire theoretical and practical tools to advance my work in the policy domain. I hope to enhance my knowledge in policy formulation and implementation, and using knowledge gained to shape the policy sector in Sierra Leone and other developing countries.
