MS Ep 4: My Life in boarding school (My story)

In this deeply emotional episode of My Story, we sit with a survivor of the Gambian boarding school system — and what unfolds is not just a story of discipline, but of deception, control, and pain.

My guest recounts the physical beatings, emotional torment, and systematic extortion that were normalized under the name of “Islamic education.” What was promised to be a sacred space for learning turned out to be, in his words, a business disguised as a religious institution, where children were broken in silence and fear.

We talk about:

• The money-making schemes disguised as religious boarding schools

• Sexual abuse and misconduct at the hands of those in power

• The long-term scars — emotional and physical — that still live with survivors

• The unspoken truth that many in society still choose to ignore

Content Warning:

This episode contains graphic discussions of child abuse, sexual misconduct, and emotional trauma experienced in boarding schools.

Listener discretion is strongly advised.