My name is Fatou Pouye, I am 20 years old, and I am from Senegal, West Africa. I grew up in a region called Kaolack, a city in the middle of the country, where I lived with my parents, four brothers, and two sisters.
My country is very dedicated to our religion and culture. More than 90% of the population in Senegal are Muslim. With that, it was somewhat challenging for a woman to practice sports at a high level . But I chose to do what i love which is playing competitive basketball.
After playing with my local club team, I was lucky enough to be part of the U16 national team. From there I got a chance to meet the SEED Academy Head Coach. After talking to him about the new SEED Girls program, I was immediately interested in joining the reputed boarding school to see what it was about.
I was selected to be part of their tryout camp in 2013, and, after I performed well, I was invited to join the school. I was really excited and happy that I finally got a chance to be with other girls that love the game like I do – I didn’t have that before. But, just some days later, I found out that my father wasn't happy about it and didn't want me to leave home. I was really upset and I didn't want to talk to anyone. Thankfully, my mom helped me and convinced my dad to let me go and chase my dream – which is to get my education and play basketball.
It was not easy to leave my family behind, but I knew that I needed to do so for me to achieve my goals. So, I moved to Thies (approximately three hours from Kaolack) and I lived with a host family. Every day I would leave my house to go to school and then to SEED for basketball practice and tutoring. It was not easy to adjust to this new kind of life, but SEED helped me with my studies and basketball training. I hope to one day go back to SEED and help other young women achieve their dreams as well.
After four years of living at SEED and improving my studies and basketball game, I received an opportunity to come to the United States to attend Glasgow Christian Academy (Kentucky) for my senior year of high school. I was a little scared leaving my family behind because I had never left Senegal before, but I looked forward to the opportunity.
I just finished my senior year and I have been given a scholarship to attend South Georgia Tech where I will complete my associates degree by 2019.
I feel prepared for future success because of the values I learned at SEED. I now have self-confidence, power and an open mind. With all of this, the only thing I can do is succeed.
You can support more young women like Fatou. Sponsor a SEED Girl today and give the gift of education.
