Demba a Jawo

A Date with Destiny Demba a Jawo

A Date With Destiny, An AutobiographyThis book serves both as an autobiography and memoirs of the author, Demba Ali Jawo, while he served as cabinet minister in the government of Gambian President Adama Barrow. It contains the experiences of a simple village boy who managed to weather the storm under very trying circumstances to reach the pinnacle of public service. The book depicts an interesting convergence of tradition and modernity, showing how Mr. Jawo, despite all the hurdles and challenges that life threw his way, managed to transition himself from a simple Fulani herds boy to become one of the Gambia's most formidable and respected journalists, eventually leading the Gambian media fraternity for many years and culminating in him becoming a cabinet minister in the transitional government formed following the defeat of the dictatorial regime of former Gambian leader, Yahya Jammeh in 2016. The book gives us an interesting account of how Mr. Jawo's going to school was accidental because his younger brother who was identified to go to school fell ill and died shortly afterwards, and how his father reluctantly accepted him to go to school instead. It went on to show how school life was quite difficult for Mr. Jawo as he also had to juggle with cattle herding and the other daily chores of a village boy. He had to struggle against all the odds to complete his elementary education. However, to continue his education, he had to leave his home village of Choya to go to the capital Banjul, more than 200 kilometers away, to attend Crab Island Secondary Modern School as there was no post-primary school anywhere in the area, and to make matters even more difficult, his family knew hardly anyone in the Greater Banjul area for him to stay with. While he eventually succeeded in getting a guardian in Banjul, he studied and lived under very trying conditions, usually with very little food, little or no other basic amenities, including a decent place to sleep. Upon completion of his secondary education, Mr. Jawo had the required mark at the Secondary Four Examinations to continue his high education at St. Augustine's Secondary School in Banjul, but because his parents did not have the means to pay for his school fees, coupled with other compelling circumstances, he had to leave school and look for employment. However, with determination to pursue further educational opportunities, Mr. Jawo enrolled with the Rapid Results College, then a popular correspondence institute, and managed to obtain credits at both the Ordinary and Advanced Level examinations as a private candidate. In the book, Mr. Jawo also narrates some of his encounters as cabinet minister, giving an insight into the life and experiences of serving at the policy making level, thus making the book an interesting narrative of the realities of the Gambian scenario spanning over two generations.