Today we’d like to introduce you to Ebrima “Abraham” Sisay.
Hi Ebrima “Abraham”, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
My story started in The Gambia, West Africa. Growing up in an extended family as the second oldest out of eight siblings, there was always something dramatic or exciting happening. It wasn’t really my favorite growing up in an extended family until I moved to the US almost 9 years ago (2013). I really miss everyone now and can’t wait to reconnect. Growing up, I was always the good kid!
My younger siblings looked up to me (and my older brother too but would never admit to it), my parents were happy with me because I had good grades and was a well-behaved kid. Everyone had a great story about me and assumed they knew the best for me. I played the part but deep down, I was hurting! At the age of 11 going to 12, I witnessed my best friend drown in front of me. That experience broke me and put me in a stressful state of mind. No one really knew what to say to me and I didn’t properly grieve because my environment didn’t know how to support me in that period. While I was going through, I was getting molested by a well-respected individual in our community and I didn’t know why it kept happening. I ended up blaming myself because everyone knew him as a good guy and he was highly respected. Somehow, I convinced myself that it was my fault and never spoke about it. The stress of being extremely helpless and a constant panic attack manifested into a stutter and slowly, I lost the ability to speak fluently. This new barrier and challenge cost me an opportunity to play soccer professional. The stutter and panic attacks kept getting worse and the pressure I felt from my coach and team was debilitating so I decided to quit soccer. All this happened in Africa to a kid everyone believed was a good and happy kid. Meanwhile, all I wanted was to run as far as possible and hopefully, I will leave all my “problems” back in Africa.
I somehow convinced my parents to help me travel in order to pursue a higher education and find myself. They agreed with the condition of coming back home to work for my dad. Finally! My opportunity to run from the horrible experiences and hopefully land in a place where no one knows me and I can start fresh. However, I remember my problems getting even more extreme! I felt alone and couldn’t fit into any group. I was constantly made fun of for having an African accent and being too dark! I didn’t understand why my skin tone brought so much negative attention or attention in general. Growing in Africa, we never refer to each other by the color of our skin so it really messed with me. My “problems” got even worse and I isolated myself and only hung out with the wrong crowd to fit in but would run back to my isolation. This lasted throughout college until I met a girl who helped me open up a bit. After a while, she shared that I may be experiencing a form of mental illness and that I should seek help! This pissed me off and my pride kicked in because I grew up in an environment where mental health wasn’t talked about unless you’re considered “crazy”. I didn’t listen and eventually she left! After some time by myself, I decided to seek help in order to get back together with her. Maybe if she sees that I’m seeking help, she will come back. That decision was a pivotal point in my life. I went in not knowing how to talk to or what to even say but my goal was to get my relationship back. Imagine my surprise when I learned that I was experiencing depression, trauma, PTSD and a bunch of other disorders. This diagnosis literally offended me! I kept going to therapy because I really wanted to prove that I wasn’t “crazy”. But the more I go, the more I understand how my past traumas affected me and held me. Slowly, my stutter went away and I was talking fine and fluently! I learned that the fact that I wasn’t aware of my past and how it affected me, trauma was the reason why I developed the stutter due to chronic stress. The body really keeps the score! I even forgot my original reason for seeking and went all in the healing journey. I came out as a totally different person who doesn’t stop talking. I build a whole business trying to end the stigma around mental illness and raising awareness by sharing my story wherever I go.
After I became fully aware that I’m not my mental illness. It is something I went through. It’s an experience not my identity. I made it a goal to start saying “I have depression” instead of “I am depressed” because we have a huge ability to influence our mental health. I want everyone to be aware of this mantra so I created a 16 episode documentary called “Freedom Project”. This process focuses on social problems and the goal is to help people identify mental challenges we all experience as a society but don’t really talk about the main issue, mental illnesses, through individual storytelling.
Pain is one thing we have in common but we don’t talk about it due to the stigma and fear of being vulnerable. This only sets us back as a society. I believe with this documentary, we can reach more people by using other people’s stories to create a massive impact. I genuinely believe the only way we can save the planet is to invest in people’s mental well-being.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
My main obstacles were on a personal level. Figuring out why I was experiencing so much pain mentally and going through a long healing process removed the mental block that was limiting me from who I was meant to be. The journey is quite challenging but now I have the right tools to navigate through the journey and I can say happily that the fun is in the process!
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your business?
I’m the Founder & CEO of Alkamba Company. A modern day content creation agency that helps business create stories distribute and manage their content online. Our goal is to use the power of business to help create a bridge between cultures by using Art!
What matters most to you? Why?
My biggest goal has been to connect communities through shared experience and vulnerability. This is a goal that I’m dedicating my whole energy to achieve by starting a project that brings in more people to join me on this journey to raise awareness and end the stigma around mental illness because the planet depends on it. I do this by using every aspect of my skills and business to continue doing the work.
Contact Info:
- Email: [email protected]
- Website: www.alkambacompany.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/abrahamadvocates/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/abrahamadvocate/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/abrahamadvocate
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCovQtQwz_hHkgf1JaXU4Fkg
Image Credits:
Photo Credit: Naomi Read Photography – Farm Photos Vinny Vango – BTS Photos
