NEVER STAY DOWN AFTER A TEMPORARY FALL; PICK AT EVERY CHANCE YOU GET TO START AGAIN
NEVER STAY DOWN AFTER A TEMPORARY FALL; PICK AT EVERY CHANCE YOU GET TO START AGAIN
Behind every success story lies the story of many instances of rising and falling, but the success story is because of someone deciding not to stay down for too long. Someone with a vision will never want to be downtrodden. They will rise and continue forging ahead to the top. Asha Daudi Abinallah is a woman of vision.
Asha Abinallah is the M.A. New Media CEO and Founder of the Media Convergency Company, a Tanzanian Multidisciplinary ICT Company that appraises information and applies technological innovations and applications that provide impactful digital solutions. Abinallah graduated with a Masters in New Media from the University of Leeds in the UK. She is certified to train in digital-related topics internationally by DW Akademie; she mentors in her field and is also a researcher. Asha Abinallah is equipped with over 10 years of experience in Internet Influence and engagement of Netizens. She has undergone training in Media from 2019 to 2020, organised by NIRAS Sweden AB, FOJO: Media Institute, Global Reporting and IMS, on behalf of the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA). Abinallah is an Alumni of the Mandela Washington Fellowship on the Business and Entrepreneurship track that she studied at the University of Austin in Texas in 2015. She is also a 2018 alumnae of the Swedish Institute Management Program Africa (SIMP). She has done research on Internet Governance and Internet Freedom in Tanzania. She is a co-founder of Women at Web Tanzania, a project that promotes Digital Inclusion and looks to empower girls and women to access technology and digital training, so they can have access to internet navigation. Abinallah also engages in political analysis for her country Tanzania.
She has previously written a political book known as “Asemavyo Zitto” that captures the true event of the MP, Zitto Kabwe. She is a recipient of ITP Africa 2018/19 Chevening 2019 and a member of the TAMWA, Texas Association of African American Chambers of Commerce and the US Diversity Chamber of Commerce.
From Whence did she start
TheCitizen[/caption]
Seeing all her outstanding achievements, her story is totally unexpected, and this is what makes her unexceptional. As a teenager in Form Four, Abinallah became a mother, but she did not give up and today she is a Master’s degree holder and the CEO of her own company. She did not stay down but took up the chance she got to go back to school.
She had been in love with reading from a young age as she once recounted that her dad introduced her to reading by gifting her the Oxford Learner’s Dictionary at her Seventh birthday and she continued amassing her books and had over 800 books by the age of 18. At a point in her secondary school journey, she resented school and preferred reading alone on the Maize farms. She failed her Form Four National exam and got pregnant at age 18, a painful experience that she could overcome and return to school. Before resuming school, she started working as a seamstress like her mother, then she became a really creative designer.
Abinallah did not decide to go back to school until her marriage failed and she had to repeat Form Four as a private candidate. In 2007, she did her A-levels at Sangu Secondary School, Mbeya and in 2010 she went further to attend the University of Dar es Salaam. From that point, she did not stop but continued to push for her Masters and various other training in Research and Digital Related Subjects. In 2011, she kicked off her ICT career by registering at JamiiForums. The success of her delving into ICT became apparent when she started Media Convergency Company in 2020. She stated that she became interested in ICT because today’s world demands it and to thrive both as an individual and in organizations; she needs ICT skills. She cites her mother as the person who was very instrumental in helping her bounce back to become the great person she is today.
Abinallah urges women to pick up skills and perfect them while building their self-confidence and avoiding dysfunctional relationships.
There is this cliché that “life is full of ups and downs” and this has been apparent in the lives of many people, but what sets you apart is your ability to pick up and refuse to stay down. The world might seem unfair when you are down and would berate you, but the same world will celebrate you when you rise and it is up to you to pick which side of the world you want to experience.
Written By: Joyce C. Nwezeh Obi-Akejelu (Writer, Social media manager and graphic designer with Africa4AfricaWomen/Assert/PAWES).
