Think Creative Spring 2024

Creative Life

a mission-driven community

Gladys Ekoto A passion for education Staff Spotlight “We are a product of our culture,” says Gladys Ekoto, a Senior Program Associate currently focused on educational work in Somalia. Gladys was born in Cameroon to a military family, allowing her to travel with her family at a young age and explore various cultures. “I was always curious about people, other peo ple, people’s cultural background. And my love for travel led me to the hospitality industry.” However, after 10 years in hospitality, she real ized she was missing a sense of meaning. In her search for a new career, Gladys returned to her roots and reflected on the cultural expectations set for women in Cameroon. She saw that there were many gender roles women were asked to fill, but they were left without an education. Deciding to go back to school, she got her master’s degree in international affairs, emphasizing women’s rights and culture. The importance of education “My father did not have a chance to go to school because he lost his parents at a very, very young age,” says Gladys. “My mother went to school…and when she lost her parents, that opportunity also was taken away from her. So, education has many meanings for me and on different levels.” Gladys has pursued her passion for education and human rights through involvement in the Somalian education program. The program seeks to help out-of-school children from the ages of 5 to 18 by providing them with educa tion. Once the basic education levels have been completed, students are offered the opportuni ty to participate in an apprenticeship. Many local children are affected by conflict and climate change, so the opportunity to receive an education can be life-changing. In total, the program currently serves around 100,000 children. Originally drawn to the program because of the powerful work being done and the experienced

“We are a product of our culture. I was always curious about other people’s cultural background,” says Ekoto.

staff, Gladys appreciates the various perspec tives that make up her team. She encourages those she works with to ask questions and learn more about the social topics that interest them. First, her team brainstorms ideas, which become proposals. “Then we win, and then it becomes implementation. Implementation means that we are going back to those people we have met or interacted with in different ways to make that change. There is nothing that can actually top this.” Appreciating culture Gladys’ current work emphasizes culture, something she appreciates and identifies with. “What surprises me most of the time is that we think that the issues that we discuss or we talk about when it comes to certain parts of the world, they are only in that part of the world,” she reflects. “And I am realizing that all these

issues are actually in all our cultures. It just depends on how one is looking at them.” Ekoto encourages others to get involved in education programs like those she has led. “There is space for a new idea. The space for a new perspective. It is going to be a bumpy ride but quite rewarding. Because when you see some of the changes that were made because of a program that you were part of. When I see these 100,000 kids that we’re helping in Somalia, and we have a report that just came out from the Ministry of Education acknowl edging all the work that we did, then you know that what you do does matter to someone out there.” By focusing on learning more about social issues and cultural norms, Gladys believes that we can better understand one another and work towards answering abstract social

Photo by Amanda Smallwood

26 | Think Creative | Spring 2024