Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Alright, guys,
welcome to a special, special
episode of Fan Faces.
We're not dipping into thesports today.
Today it's a human cultureepisode, a human problem, really
, for everybody that's in thedeveloping world.
But today we have somebody hereby the name of Muhammad
Muhammad Bangura, and Muhammad,please tell the people out there
(00:24):
about yourself.
Yes, so I am.
Speaker 2 (00:26):
Muhammad Bangura.
I think on all my socials I amMI Bangura.
I come from second-hand itselfSpeak close, speak close.
Yes, I am.
I would like to describe myself.
I think I'm generallyinterested in education.
I'm currently I'm publishing mypage at the Ata Ahrite here in
(00:49):
Manchester.
Speaker 1 (00:50):
For those of you that
don't know, that's a Rochester
Institute of Technology.
It's one of the biggestuniversities, biggest private
universities in the world andit's world-renowned.
And this guy happens to justland there.
Is it by luck or is it by skill?
Well, find out.
Let's keep it going Sure.
Speaker 2 (01:08):
Yeah, so probably, as
we continue, you'll get to know
I would probably get to seemore about myself, I think.
In short, muhammad from SierraLeone, and I am into education.
Speaker 1 (01:20):
Okay, okay, so
Michael starts now the you know
the small area.
Then first, who's here, whereyou came from America.
Speaker 2 (01:31):
I came here last year
August.
Speaker 1 (01:35):
So from all the
countries that we don't travel,
where you came from, america.
What's the difference?
Speaker 2 (01:41):
I think you know, if
one of the US, I think I'd
compare the first countrieswhere I traveled to Okay yeah,
everything pretty much issimilar.
I think the main differencehere, not that system they
almost all tend to they willcopulate.
Speaker 1 (02:00):
So Mauritius, who's
that Mauritius state?
Speaker 2 (02:03):
Mauritius is not
Indian, it's in Africa, okay.
Speaker 1 (02:06):
Mauritius is in
Africa.
Mauritius reminds me of America.
Remember, people are notswinging on trees, people not
living in the jungle.
Mauritius is a developedcountry for the most part, but
continue.
Speaker 2 (02:21):
Yeah, sure, sure,
yeah.
So I think that that's not thefirst part where we will compare
these very, very specific orunique US like systems and
things that you put your lighton in the you internet.
You wake up in the, you knowthey wake up to surprises, yeah.
Speaker 1 (02:38):
That's good, you know
we all get the opportunity.
Then they will survive.
You go really Well the way youfirst come to America.
The first thing you'll noticewhile you first come to America,
while you're young, you're leftalone 1997.
Speaker 2 (02:52):
1997 1997.
Speaker 1 (02:55):
Now come to America.
I've been so young I've come toAmerica I'd expect to see all
the motocadden.
They're supposed to pull smokein normal.
For me, motocaddy pull smoke,motocaddy pull smoke, that's not
normal.
But as I go older and I realizemotocaddy pull smoke is because
something wrong with them.
No, no, do the propermaintenance plan.
(03:19):
So I'd say that they firstsegue into this.
For the people that are waitingin the salon, the way they sit
down and say salon had thecountry, the country, the
country, you know they go before, that's true, not to just salon
had all some of the wall had,it's just that salon now gets a
safety net.
And I say you know, get thesafety net.
(03:41):
If you know, then say the priceof rest, they go up.
If you go up to a million, noneof the adjust the wages for
balance down there.
Then just they say Padimanadis,we get for you no more, this is
all we have for you and youwill have to learn to deal with
it.
Whereas in America they do awage adjustment we now eat a
(04:03):
yali then gets the wages they'rewithin the guinna workway,
separates from the wageadjustment, but yali then they
do an assessment of theenvironment, the economy,
suicide, and go able adjust forpeople then for make them be
sufficient.
And so we go jump into theeducational realm as well.
Mohammed Bangura, fenway forKovona, salon and Kala in
(04:28):
America, not through God, sure,not through magic, some can say,
but mostly not through hardwork.
And make sure, say from yourunderstanding, from the
background conversations, theway we don't get, and make sure
say who said and say when or dayand make sure say where day.
So tell me you firstentanglement with trying for
(04:52):
Fenway for move yourself furtherout of Salon.
Speaker 2 (04:56):
Out of Salon.
Yeah, it starts, I think, in2014, when we get Ebola, so just
before 2014,.
That is like 2012.
I mean, they are out of schoolfor like AOL Academy here, wow,
and then that was cool for allthat story for another day.
(05:17):
So I come back and I'm in forrepeats Let me class.
I'm in for repeats me class, Irepeats me class, and then from
there, when I come back, I'mgonna get an extra drive to make
sure I do what I do Because I'msupporting my family and so I'm
in for put extra work.
So I put extra work.
We put me at the position whereI am now.
(05:38):
I tell Prince of Wales, actuallythe best school you can attend
the best school if the sense nowthey didn't know and then they
are like Prince of Walestogether, like a rewarding
system when you do well, theymake you a school prefect and
you school to that time you getfor being involved in extra.
So when so I get for can beconscious about the internet
(06:02):
specifically that, oh, you couldactually find communities on
and the first opportunity wemake a big, we do a more closer
to like opportunities abroad.
Now we are going to Google.
It was just like.
It was just like a webinarwhere you talk about setting
empowerment so by the firstforward now when I write me my
(06:23):
work.
Speaker 1 (06:23):
and then there was
Ebola, there was cooling, so I
was just like searching onlinefor schools, looking for yeah,
just like that, not just say Godday, god will come, but go,
look, go, take the opportunity,take out by the hand.
Yeah, take out, make you go,make you go sound as opposed to
go.
Speaker 2 (06:40):
Yeah, and I'm one of
the study civil engineering.
So the first school I rememberI applied to Florida Institute
of Right.
I was applying for a civilengineering program.
They show you the price.
You hate shake.
I don't even know about theprice.
If I apply then we'll take meand things like that on my phone
(07:04):
and get one motor online.
Yeah, they apply and then I seeme get it done fast.
So we wait, wait, wait, wait,wait, wait, wait, wait.
We can go to internet kaffe, soget our money for two days.
Internet kaffe.
Spent two hours print almostall the documental for prints,
like we can read about the thing.
Speaker 1 (07:21):
Okay.
So what you, they say, is you,you and you, adventure and go
out and fend and attack and pulland bring to you, not just sit
down there and wait.
Say something you can't for me,not just sit down there and
wait.
Say somebody go, do for me,make a go, and then and and then
(07:42):
and adventure into thisdifferent, unknown world of mine
and and and get informationwhere I feel say it's necessary
for me to do it and it for do so.
I say that I go add me ownsmall thing.
If you get something planned byyour mind, right, yeah, even if
you don't know how to do it.
(08:02):
Yeah, you go fend where for one.
Yes, so you part the education,but me part different avenues.
Them I get, I don't see thatthey don't come to fruition.
On many occasions I havesomething planned in my mind, I
see it in my mind's eye and thenI go about doing it and some
way, somehow I figure it out andI don't know how, come off on a
(08:23):
, but I land NZ, and while Iland NZ I know I have
accomplished the goal, no matterhow big or small.
I know I have accomplished, butI continue.
Speaker 2 (08:34):
Yeah, sure, you're
very right on that.
So first forward a friend.
We sorry a friend with me.
Don't go to South Africa, seethis university, just like we
say random links.
See, man, you I know, see that,apply and for apply for this
one okay right.
So we say I apply for this oneand then I start for apply and
then I forget about the, the,the, the other one, because they
(08:57):
ask me for document.
They don't even understand youunderstand.
So I be applied for this otherone and this other one.
They will application me verylengthy.
They mean need for right, likeso many essays then about.
You say literally I will writeeverything.
Now it's spending people.
When I then I type on my phonelike I type on my phone like
text, and then when I go becausethe internet can feel the
(09:19):
internet slow, I delay it.
The internet is a slow right soif you buy one hour right and
you have a good type is writtenthat one hour, you money only
done.
Yeah, so at the time when I'min front of text, when I reach,
I that text, I send an email, orso when I reach, I take them
from email, put on a worddocument and the computer the
(09:40):
entire forpload so many essaysthen.
So like in I never like threemonths or so and finally I go to
the next stage.
Obviously it was a very newschool actually.
And then I go to the next stageand then I realize now that
this was actually like, like areality.
You could actually get like ascholarship.
And then in that process, theI'm already applying to FBC.
Speaker 1 (10:03):
Okay, because school
me down, the between them don't
be in school you want for youwant to put all your caps, then
we'll sign you for.
Put yeah, nothing all of youmake sense once we jump to FBC.
Speaker 2 (10:14):
Well, once FBC
opening, then I start for a 10.
He give me the zeal for applyfor more school.
Right, because, yeah, becausegenerally I'm here, I'm getting
like like a good result, someexpective.
I go for a big college and Istruggle a lot but realize that
you go every day me for print 50documents, 50 pages like
(10:38):
pamphlet.
It's like you need for backfive.
You need for back five like youthe chest, you just so many
things, them just for thesegrades.
I was like no, I need for this.
So fast forward.
I completed application and Igot like admission.
So some funny thing, I putaround the time when I get the
admin me phone, one middle usein the umpire, right.
(10:59):
So I tell a friend, say if Ican put me sim card my phone,
you know, then to sim phone type, I put me sim card my phone
anyone for commutes daddy themorning.
So you see my levy me phonewith you.
Okay, so sad ago, the mightthat about play that thing.
Yeah, I, and by then I think Ididn't meet some some details
(11:22):
them I don't make before theypay for the internet, like we
have the reason.
And so I went to like a.
This woman want me to put someof it to admit.
Well, like I can go useinternet night office.
Okay, so in the opening you cansee in cafe like like internet
cafe and was like you have a car, help me walk us them.
(11:42):
Just maybe in the morning youcan open back back things like
that it was not but you need towrite, so I stopped.
Paying for internet isessentially yeah, you find a way
for make things that happen?
yeah so the morning I just theyopen the internet cafe and then
I see the foreign number, thecall you phone.
They ask is this mohael bangora?
(12:03):
I said yes, blah blah blah.
You say, oh you, you, you'vebeen selected for.
So for this award, blah blahblah.
I I literally feel, see, likenothing like I, like I, like I
will need for pay.
Don't stop, I've seen, I justadmission.
But actually the award sponsor,like for me undergrad, for it's
(12:24):
like 40,000 from your undergradway so fast forward.
That opportunity make me forleft salon so when I left the
first time your first time right.
So I left salon, did myundergrad and then I went back,
worked for like a year and I sawthat I needed to leave again
right, and then I left again forone day for my master's, and
(12:46):
then I was then in wonder now,and then I saw this a lot of
opportunity to continue mystudies, like yeah well, that's
wonderful is yes, god exists.
Speaker 1 (12:57):
Yes, people will help
you, but when they help you,
you need to also make sure thatyou're driven enough for you to
do the nest.
Take the necessary steps,whether it's writing an essay,
whether it's getting gettingsomebody's phone that let you
use your phone.
Whatever it is you have to doto get to the goals that you
(13:19):
want to.
You need to take thosenecessary steps, and some of the
people in the develop, in thedeveloping world, find it very
difficult.
If they don't give me, I'm notgoing to do anything.
There's nothing I can do.
Some situations, that's true,but some situations it's not.
You have to be willing to work.
That's for everybody,everywhere.
You cannot just land in Americaand expect that you're going to
(13:42):
be rich or expect that you'regoing to make.
You're going to have a job.
You have to have a resume, a CV.
You have to go for an interviewand you have to do well at that
interview because it'scompetitive.
You will not be the only personinterviewing for that job and
you have to, once you get thejob, maintain yourself as a
professional and do what's askedof you show up on time, do your
(14:05):
job, ask questions.
If you don't understand, askagain.
And if you are not willing to doany of those things, success
will not follow you.
Success comes to those who arewilling to work hard.
You may be unlucky, you maystrike out a hundred times, but
101 time when you hit, that'sall that counts.
Nobody will ever know that youstruck out a hundred times.
(14:26):
They'll only know that, wow,look at where he's at now.
Wow, look at what he or she isdoing now.
Look at where they, wherethey've gone.
So to come from Sierra Leone toMauritius, to Rwanda, and is
there another place in between?
Speaker 2 (14:41):
No, I think directs
like places where I've stayed
for at least a year.
Yeah, those are the countries.
Speaker 1 (14:47):
So Sierra Leone,
Mauritius, Rwanda, to Rochester,
New York, which is in America.
When they say America, Americais a big place, but Rochester,
New York, he's in New York City.
Well, he's a New York state andit's cold over here, but he's
adjusting.
You've only been here sinceAugust and you're wearing a
sweater.
(15:08):
It's a cold day today.
Yeah, no, last August.
Speaker 2 (15:12):
Okay, last August, so
I've spent one winter here.
Speaker 1 (15:16):
Winter's not as bad
as they used to be.
There was a time when Octoberthere's snow, september, october
, november, december, januarysnow, and then January, february
, march, march.
It ends, but you have your lastsnowstorm that you know it's a
goodbye snowstorm, but so whatare some of your struggles when
(15:43):
you went to these places?
What were some of the thingsthat you found difficult once
you got there?
Speaker 2 (15:48):
I think, from
Mauritius, right.
So like, for example, nobodybelieved that very real, that I
was actually living on a freeride, Like even my flight,
everything was covered.
So to convince people, like,whether it's your family members
(16:09):
, your pastor at the church,everyone I tell them that they
ask you like are you sure aboutthis?
You know my?
Did you do a video call?
No, no, my uncle actually.
He confessed like, yeah, when Iwent for my break it was like,
you know, I believed in you, butI was not very sure that this
(16:31):
thing was very real until whenyou arrived and called me with a
foreign number, a foreign areacode, yeah, right.
So I think the futurechallenges that I had in the
case of Mauritius, of course,the language barrier.
What language do they speak inMauritius?
(16:51):
They speak Creole.
It's like a local dialect, it'slike French, but just like our
Creole, it's like broken French,english or whatever.
Right?
yeah so the language, the foodwas very, very different.
Like entirely different fromwhat you can imagine.
Speaker 1 (17:08):
No Russian plasas.
Speaker 2 (17:10):
Nothing like that.
No, gary, nothing like that.
Yeah, so I mean, it was myfirst time to even what about
coffee and bread?
Of course, that's how I knew.
Yeah, so, and the timedifference and all of the stuff,
it was the first time Itraveled, that it was the first
time I saw a plane, soeverything was new.
(17:30):
Everything was new.
So just to cope with those,yeah, but I think, other than
that, the rest, whether it'sRwanda or the US, is very smooth
, because by then I had learnedthat I did not need to talk to
anyone to go and buy it, to doanything, you understand yeah.
Speaker 1 (17:46):
So how long did you
spend in Rwanda?
How long were you there?
For a year, okay, and Mauritius, mauritius, for like four years
spilling to him, okay, yeah, oh, did you leave a baby in
Mauritius?
No, no, no, no, no, I did not.
Yeah, okay, yeah, I mean.
So, with your scholarship nowhere, is there a possibility
(18:08):
that, like, after you've donelearning, you have to go back?
Speaker 2 (18:11):
No, I have no.
There's no, nothing like that,but of course I'm on F1.
If I'm able to convert it to, Ican see that there's nothing.
Speaker 1 (18:23):
You definitely.
Can you find yourself a womanwhile you're in town.
It's the best way, right.
Find yourself somebody to marryyou.
No, I do have a woman.
Speaker 2 (18:31):
Okay, you're on your
way.
Yeah no, I have a woman fromSierra Leone.
Well, you need a woman here.
Speaker 1 (18:37):
You need a woman in
America so you could convert
your F1 into a permanent thing.
Speaker 2 (18:42):
Well.
Speaker 1 (18:43):
I'm looking at a lot
of things, or with what you do,
whatever job you get, they cansponsor you.
But that's a long path.
So if you're looking into anopportunity like that, they're
hard to come by, but you're inthe right environment.
You see a lot of people everyday.
I mean, maybe Are you on campusevery day?
No, no, no.
Speaker 2 (19:02):
I do not work from
campus.
I've had it a few times.
Speaker 1 (19:08):
Well, that's what you
need to be to convert that F1.
Speaker 2 (19:12):
Well, I mean, it's a
five-year program.
Maybe it will speed up to six,but I know by then I mean my
second year now.
By then I will have learnedabout that.
Speaker 1 (19:23):
Well, you have
resources, I'm always here, I'm
not in college.
Like you, I intend to go back toschool.
I myself, I work in a medicalfield.
I work in cytology.
We do cancer studies for peoplethat have a lot going on in
their life Medically, with thegrowths in their lungs, tumors
(19:47):
and all that stuff.
So that's what I do.
But there's plenty of ways outthere people for you to develop
your life if you wish.
And, being in Sierra Leone, foryou to just sit there and be
like I want to travel, it's nota reality.
You have to have some kind of aqualifications.
(20:09):
Whether it's educational,whether it's a trade, you have
to do something.
So if it's educational routewe've talked about the
educational route and there'splenty of opportunities out
there you just have to applyyourself.
And if it's educational routethe medical route, the
engineering route, those are.
And computer science routes Ifyou're into that, it goes a long
(20:35):
way, because those are thethings qualifications that
they're looking for for peopleto come overseas.
And if you have thosequalifications, they help your
tongue.
But for you to sit there and belike I want to go overseas, what
are your plans?
Or you contact to somebodysaying you have anything there
that I could come for, we can't,they can't train you, they
(20:55):
can't bring you here.
You have to have a skill.
You have to be marketable.
What is it that you're good atthat?
You're so good at that nobodyelse could do better than you.
Education is A1.
There's a lot of smart peoplein Sierra Leone.
But being smart alone does nothelp you.
You need to also be resourceful.
Speaker 2 (21:13):
And, if I can comment
on that, I think you do not
necessarily have to have thebest grades Because my, my, my,
my work results.
It was not the best.
I got like six Bs Because I didscience.
I got like Bs my science is noteasy.
Speaker 1 (21:34):
They understand that,
so Bs are good.
Speaker 2 (21:36):
So you do not have to
have like the perfect grades.
You know what I mean If you'rea history major and you have Bs.
Speaker 1 (21:42):
They're not taking
you.
Speaker 2 (21:45):
Yeah, yeah, and you
do not have, and I think the
education route is probably thesimplest, like in my, because
most of the schools they do have, like like, a quota for
international.
And when you come from acountry like Sierra Leone and
(22:06):
then you are competing withpeople from Nigeria, ghana,
where if two Sierra Leones areapplying, maybe two or two
thousand people are applyingfrom Nigeria, like some of these
admission committees, they canactually see that, oh, we want
to be diverse.
We want to say, oh, we've had10 more counties in our
(22:28):
studentship, so you actuallystand like the like a better
chance to get this opportunity.
Speaker 1 (22:35):
So if you're a Sierra
Leonean out there and you want
to do the educational route,like Mohammed is saying, apply
yourself.
When you apply yourself, do notbe shy, but hopefully you have
decent grades.
You don't have to be worldclass, but decent enough to the
point where they take you to theschool and you could actually
(22:55):
learn and you don't come acrossas this is hard.
Yeah, because it's not easyanywhere to learn.
But you have to be willing tolearn.
You have to set your mindset.
You get from makeup your mind,say I want for long and I did so
.
I want for success and if notdone, they be the case and will
take you long way.
So keep that in mind, all right, anything else.
Speaker 2 (23:18):
Yeah, so I mean
specifically to me, salon for
family, like for me, I think theonly thing where I can talk to
now the educate of course otherpeople are out, sure the
education route.
If you plan for left Salon toeducate, right, which I would
(23:39):
say really good, because some ofwe, by the grace of God, we get
for go back, for go ahead ofthe road.
Speaker 1 (23:44):
We develop.
Speaker 2 (23:44):
Yeah for go develop.
And if you don't see you haveto travel to education.
Make sure safe you don't see towire cry to watch.
Make sure you get your result.
So people would check them,they would trace them Right.
If you go to college or youdon't get it from college, make
sure you get your transcript.
If like it all you need fordoing, have a just try for
(24:05):
identify what you plan for studyand find university them with
the offer that and even most ofthe university.
Then, if not for the US forexample, again they get to say
and call admission fees right.
You don't necessarily need for,pay that fees Literally.
I don't do this for so manypeople.
You just write to the, to the,to the admission team, and say,
(24:28):
hey, I'm applying, but right nowI'm not able for a for the fees
because of me.
For that situation, then theway for you.
You understand all you need.
You always want to getsomething with.
You look forward to for.
Say, okay, I don't put two tothe application and make a with
for and for sure, we're waitingthere.
You don't need any suburb fromanybody for for, for for study.
Speaker 1 (24:52):
Bottom line.
Be resourceful, get, make sureyou have all your documents
intact your visa, I mean yourpassport intact.
Make sure you have a passport.
Make sure you have all yourpapers that say what you've
learned.
It's actually there's actual,there's an actual correlation.
But get all together and makeyourself an impactful candidate.
(25:14):
Make yourself a very strongcandidate.
The way to make yourself astrong candidate is getting all
the documents necessary that youneed to have.
Apply and be ready when theopportunity arises.
If you're not ready when theopportunity arises and you're
going to try to bribe 10,000people, it won't work.
So be ready for opportunitywhen opportunity knocks.
Have your documents ready.
(25:35):
Have your school records ready.
Have your traveling recordsready, your traveling documents
ready.
You don't necessarily have tostart applying to American
universities.
You could start in the Africancontinent of Africa, just so
that you get the experience andand you see if there's an
opportunity for you to get out.
Because once you get out, it'sa beginning yeah, it's a
(25:58):
beginning for you to go findgreater and greater pasture baby
, end up in America and then goback to Sierra Leone and let
them know that it is possiblefor you.
You're not the exception, youare the rule.
It's a new thing, but everybodycan do it.
So, if the education route iswhat you want to take, there's
plenty of opportunities and Iwill make sure to get more
(26:20):
Ahmed's information and put themall in the description on the
podcast and on the video onYouTube when I post it, to make
sure that you guys, you know ifyou have questions, you can
contact him or you could contactme and we can get the questions
to him and maybe he couldpossibly be able to answer to
you.
You know, you don't need anagency to be able to travel
(26:41):
abroad.
You just need the willingnessand the mental toughness,
because it's gonna be a lot oftimes when you know things not
going exactly as you think theyshould, and If they don't, don't
give up.
Yeah, keep working, sure, andsomeday you find yourself where
you need to be or where you weremeant to be, maybe to America,
(27:01):
maybe it's Europe, maybe it's inthe continent of Africa itself,
but you're in a better offplace than you started out.
So our fan faces.
You got anything else to say?
Speaker 2 (27:12):
Thank you so much for
having me.
Yeah, well, no, I mean.
Speaker 1 (27:16):
Yeah, you're resort
your resource to everybody that
wants to do something.
But, yeah, never Soldopportunity or never felt that
they could.
It's possible, yeah, and it'sdefinitely possible.
As you can see, the guy made itfrom Africa to America Not
directly, but indirectly tookthe steps necessary.
(27:36):
So if he can do it, you can doit.
Keep that in mind.
Of course he's a he's a genius,I'm sure.
Oh, no, he's a hard worker.
Yeah, he's a hard worker, yeahyeah, maybe, yeah.
If you're willing to work hard,you too could be in this
position, and you could belooking for a mainstay in
(27:56):
America, or mainstay in Rwanda,or mainstay in Mauritius,
mainstay in England, themainstay in France or Russia or
Germany.
Wherever the good Lord landsyou or leads you, all right
anything else.
Speaker 2 (28:11):
Yeah, I think that's
all from for now, and thank you
so much again For having.
Speaker 1 (28:17):
You're welcome.
I'm at what today's episode.
I can't forget to thank oursponsors.
Mainly final cuts.
Media find us on Facebook,instagram, youtube and Tiktok.
We're all over.
We talk sports, but every nowand then we need to feed the
people.
So this is an opportunity.
Opportunity to feed the people.
So then, I'm glad we Are ableto make it happen.
(28:40):
And also, 19 strings for theharp Andrews book is on Amazon.
Go check it out.
Great writer, support the causeand if you want a fan faces
hoodie, they're available fororder.
They look good on me.
They could also look good onyou.
Thank you for the support.
Thank you everybody everywherethat's listening.
We appreciate you.
(29:01):
We can't wait for you to comeback for our next feed the soul
segment.
We continue to feed you.
So thank you and have a niceday.
Speaker 2 (29:38):
You.