Like many students at the African Leadership Academy, Chernoh Jalloh grew up in extremely challenging circumstances. Born in Sierra Leone, his early years were spent in the east of the country, where the civil war had caused an enormous amount of damage. Eventually, they were forced to move to Guinea, and it was here that Chernoh was given opportunity to attend primary school.

Despite his young age, Chernoh realised that education was the key to freedom – this is a sentiment which most people, including Tunde Folawiyo, would probably agree with. And so he focused all of his efforts on his studies; he even went so far as to transfer to a better junior secondary school, which was much farther away from his home, in order to ensure that he got the best education possible. He excelled in every subject, earning the top exam results in his school. It was this dedication to his academic tasks, coupled with his desire to work towards the economic and social transformation of the continent, which allowed him to go on to attend the African Leadership Academy.

In his first year at the academy, Chernoh became a Bezos scholar; this enabled him to pay for the expenses associated with studying at the ALA. This scholarship is provided by the Bezos Family Foundation, an organisation that offers funding to students who have demonstrated an exceptional level of talent. The foundation offers this money, in the belief that by doing so, they can provide the recipient with the chance to reach their full potential.

Chernoh continued to thrive at the ALA, and was very active both on and off campus; during his time there, he was appointed as the African Football Academy’s CEO. This organisation aims to empower and support young children through sport, and teach them about the value of team work.

Additionally, Chernoh became involved in the academy’s scientific research class, which in turn led to him delivering a number of presentations on the exploration of space and planet Mars. Last but not least, in 2010, he was chosen as the academy’s representative for the Aspen Ideas Festival. Tunde Folawiyo and others who are familiar with the ALA, will understand what an honour it is to be asked to represent the academy in this manner.

Chernoh is a firm believer in the power of knowledge, and maintains that education is at the very core of ethical and effective leadership. After graduating from the ALA, he travelled to the USA in order to pursue his university education. Today, he studies political science and pre-med at Bennington College. As a research intern at K-RITH, he is particularly interested in issues relating to the struggle surrounding the spread of TB in Africa.