EMMANUEL NJANG – THE GLOBAL VILLAGER

A beautiful morning to everyone, from all the four corners of this world, it is 05:28 AM (CAT) here I’m Gaborone, Botswana, as i pen this down, it has been a week of reflections on my journey, reflecting more on the past 27 years of my life, and how everything has unfolded, shaped and contributed to who I am and who I am becoming.

To say this was an easy journey, would be a lie, I think we all go through a point in time where we all need a pause, just a pause and look back at this thing called life, how we have contributed to it and how it contributed to us too, somebody reminded me of this, I had to intentionally take a little pause and appreciate myself for all I have become and all that i am becoming.

My point here is, as this year marks my 28th years of existence, all I can say is, God has been a great part of this journey, with a lot of to say or to write on, I couldn’t do it without God. I t is for this reason, that today I woke up with so much gratitude and deep appreciation for myself and everything that God placed before, the good, the bad, the silly and most stupid decisions I have ever made, shaped the Emmanuel that people see today.

One may ask, ” Why this today?”, well my friend, some years ago, growing  in a small village of Mosu, in the central district of Botswana, I developed a passion for my community, a burning desire to see change and contribute meaningfully to the development of my people and the community at large, and though this was just a dream, I pushed myself so hard to make sure I achieve this dream,

This may sound like a small dream, but for a small boy from the village, this was something that kept me awake at  night, something that still visits my mind to this day,

But what have you done really? …. I know you are asking the same question too, I got you! Well, let me ask you- how do you dream when you have only the dream in you mind? , how do you dream when you have nothing to show for yourself and other?, how do you make sure that, the dream become a reality, when you have nothing with you or any resource to support that dream?

Guess what I had and what I still have to this day?……. my ‘Voice’,

How?

A good question here, the only weapon that I still use to this day is my voice, and this was the only thing I had then, to make sure that the dream and the idea of making a change in my community became a reality. There is this beautiful quote that come to my mind as I write this, and it say- ” Until we speak for ourselves and what we believe in, we will never be heard.”, this quote here, brings so many memories to my journey and how I had used my voice to be in places I wouldnt be able to, spaces I couldnt afford to,but ony my voice afforded me a chance to.

Here is why  I chose to use my voice,

Let us agree on this thought here, most of us here,if not all,comes from villages and most of our villages had or still had similar challenges,from misrepresentation to lack of resources , there are many that we could think,and my village too,had all these challenges,imagine what this measn to a small boy or girl growing innsuch times, sometimes you may feel left out,ir having feelings that, your dresms are not valid,there is no one seeing you and so,you will never amount to anything in life,

These were my thoughts too, and who would imagine,a young boy from that dusty village,would go on a write books,not just books,but 33 published books, a young boy then, would go into the university and gratuate, a young boy then would then become a Youth Parliamentarian,not only representing Mosu village but Botswana at a global level, who would imagine that,a young boy from Mosu would then use his public speaking skills to speak up for the  voiceless,that was my strong point and to this day, I still use the power of my voice to drive change and impact in my community and the world at large.

This is the reaosn why, I consider myself as a Global Villager. 

So, this was just a little reminder of this journey. A reminder to myself that, I need to appreciate myself more than I ever did in the last 27 years. A careful reminder that, every little contribution I have made to this world ,made so much impact to this world. I may not see or hear everything or every good I had done, but there so much good that is happenings, so I need to sometimes take a little pause and appreciate myself.

What more from now?

Now that I have shared my story of my last 27 years, what more am I expecting from myself and change am i intending to create in my community, my beautiful country Botswana , this continent, Africa and lastly the world at large? 

My heart fills with so much gratitude and love for this work I am doing, and these reflections, showed me that, there is so much to be done, in our little corners, we all have a role to play, a part to contribute on, in ensuring that we leave our communities, our families, our countries and continents, as better places that we found them. So my personal mission here is to use my voice, my story as a thriving tool to drive change . This is not an individual mission, it is a global mission, that I want you and I to take on.

We have beautiful stories that we can use to drive  change, where there seem too be negativity in this world. Let us use our voices positively to inspire, motivate and impact the lives we touch. We may never know who is listening to us, who is watching us or who may need to hear our stories, but in one way or the other, somebody needs us. 

Let us journey together. I cant wait to hear your stories too,what have you used to drive change in your communities,what has been keeping you motivated to go all into this path. I know there is a  lot to sharre,but lets connect here,let share our stories. The world need more of our positive stories today more than ever in the history of humans.

With Gratitude,

As I sign out, it is 06:18 AM (CAT) , I prepare myself to head out of town,

See you,

Emmanuel Njang, Botswana

Storyteller . Author . Consultant