Barrier Breaker of November 2021

Our Barrier Breaker of the Month of November 2021 Is…

Joy Laggah, an amazing young lady residing in Sierra Leone. She has a Cleaning Services (Sparkling Cleaning Services) and her Non Profit ‘We are One Organization’ aims at helping boys and girls in a secondary school with school materials and food items for their families. She also hosts a youth program on the radio, having conversations on topics that affect young people and she’s also a second year student at the Institute of Public Administration and Management (IPAM) studying Information Systems.

https://www.facebook.com/sparklecleaningsl/ https://instagram.com/cleaning_sparkling_sl?utm_medium=copy_link

What motivated you to start?

While schooling in Nigeria, I realized there were not many organizations that catered to the needs of both boys and girls. Many focused on girls, which is great too but I had a desire to start one that focuses on both genders in secondary school. https://www.facebook.com/WeareoneSL/

For the cleaning service, I have always wanted to earn my own money. I didn’t want to depend on my parents all the time and so the capital I used to start the business was money I won from a competition ($300).

What keeps you going?

It’s not been easy, sometimes I want to give up but God gives me strength. Also my family has been very supportive. They encourage me to push on and not give up.

Sulayman: Faith and family are two things people can depend on! What lessons are you learning about yourself?

Do not let the negative actions of people change you, your behavior, vision or dreams. Also do not let your past experiences affect you or your future. When I started I was afraid that those who work for me won’t respect me because of my age and size. I got negative feedback but I tried not to focus on them.

Sulayman: Do not change for anybody. If you are going to change it should be to become a better version of yourself. Also I strongly believe people should stop attributing success, wisdom and knowledge to age. I don’t think you are supposed to be older to be respected or employ people. What matters is what is in you. Giving people chances earlier in their life is something we should embrace.

What role do you think friends play in one’s life?

Who you hang around matters, your friends can influence you greatly. That’s why it’s important to pick them carefully.

What do you know now that you wish you knew when you were younger?

I wish I knew adulting is not as easy as it looks (lol), It comes with a lot of responsibilities and making the right decisions.

Challenges

My biggest challenge is Time management!. I’m doing my best to balance all areas of my life.

Sulayman: I can relate, I also struggle with managing my time. I’ve discovered that scheduling activities helps.

Advice

Don’t be afraid to pursue your dreams. Don’t worry about how you’re going to get money. God will provide the means to set up or start that business. He will also bring you helpers. Like I said earlier, do not let the actions of people change you.

Sulayman: Yes! Stay true to yourself and don’t stop. If you want to do something, Just do it!

Thank you Joy for being on here. We appreciate you. Also kindly support her non profit. No amount is too small. More info below.