Rewiring Expectations: A Girl's Story in a Man's Field

When Ramatoulie Sanneh heard about the TVET scholarship opportunity for young people in Foni, she did not hesitate. The programme provided training in solar and electrical installations, plumbing and pipefitting and beauty and hairdressing. She chose solar and electrical installations.

It was not the “expected” choice. And her community did not stay quiet about it.

“Some people asked, ‘Why would a girl go into that? It is a man’s field,’” she recalls. “But I did not let that stop me. I know what I want.”

For Ramatoulie, who comes from Foni Dumbuto, a region rich in culture and diversity located on The Gambia’s West Coast, her choice carried even greater meaning. Foni is home to people of different religious, ethnic and political backgrounds and shares a border with the Casamance region of Senegal, which has faced instability for decades. Foni has experienced social and economic exclusion.

For her, this was about more than just breaking into a male-dominated trade. She had two clear goals: to become financially independent and to be a role model for other girls in her community.

Ramatoulie had not been able to complete her secondary education due to financial constraints. To support herself, she took a job at a company that sells sachet water, but left on personal grounds.

Now, fully enrolled and hands-on in her training, she is doing exactly what she set out to do.

“When we are having practicals, I always ask someone to record me,” she says. “When I go home, I show the videos to the girls in the village. They see me, someone like them, from here, with a helmet on, doing electrical work. They get excited. They say, ‘I want to be like you.’”

Ramatoulie is one of 100 young people currently benefiting from the TVET scholarship under the Infrastructure for Peace Project, implemented by the International Trade Centre in collaboration with UNDP and UNESCO. The project strengthens The Gambia’s national peacebuilding architecture by using sports, arts and economic empowerment to promote social cohesion. It also reaffirms the importance of working together as one UN to accelerate progress on the Sustainable Development Goals.

But her dream does not end with training.

Ramatoulie plans to start her own business, offering small-scale electrical services and to continue enhancing her skills. More importantly, she wants to keep inspiring girls to step outside the boxes society has placed them in.

“Now, I can say I am a mentor to many of these girls,” she says, smiling. “And it means everything to me that they see me and think, ‘If she can do it, maybe I can too.’”

Ramatoulie is living proof of the saying: when one girl rises, she brings others with her.