What Having Different Passions Look Like
I AM AFRICAN & I CAN is a women’s empowerment blog highlighting stories of Black women’s struggles and successes.
By Hadiatou Wann | 11/25/22
Djenabou Barry was born in Guinea, Conakry and raised by her grandma and aunt. When she later migrated to the US to join her parents at the age of eight, she lived in Brooklyn. The schools she attended did not provide quality education. And, since the fourth grade, she experienced bullying.
“If you were smart, you were picked on,” Djenabou recalls.
While living in public housing, Djenabou was exposed to subpar elevators and stairs. Her father decided that the poor living conditions in subsidized housing would not enable his family to thrive. “I gotta get us out of here,” her father promised. And he did!
In high school, Djenabou learned to accept the things that were different about her, like her African identity. She continued to focus on her studies, gave it her all and graduated with honors. Though she received a scholarship for college, she found out that she could not attend because she was not legal at the time. Her world came crashing. All the hard work she put into her studies, only to find out that she could not further her studies. She felt that everything she had worked for went down the drain.
With an EIN (Employer Identification Number), she was able to enroll into City College, where she had to pay out of pocket. Luckily, by the second semester, her mother’s immigration status was resolved. Djenabou received grants and took on an International Studies major so she could one day represent Guinea.
While in college, she secured a job working at an immigration firm where her uncle worked. Working there gave her the opportunity to understand the immigration struggles that other families underwent.
Starting a family was always at the back of Djenabou’s mind. After she spoke to a few candidates, her mind settled on the one man who she felt was the most understanding and was not strict. After getting married, Djenabou moved to Texas and completed 2 years of studies in International Relations at the University of North Texas, and 1 year of community college, which gave her access to lower tuition fees that came with being in-state.
A natural go-getter, Djenabou had always been working, and though her husband could provide for her, she didn’t give up on her goals of having her own. While juggling wife and mommy duties, she found a job doing front desk at a hotel, a position she realized that she loved. But she wanted more. She wanted to know how the hotel business operated. She worked her way up and became assistant manager. However, after some time she left that role because she was underpaid.
Still, Djenabou wanted to be a working mom. She went back to work at the law firm for a year (while pregnant with her second child). After some time, the hotel took her back and bumped her pay. Still, Djenabou felt some favoritism within her department. This pushed her to go work at another brand. In that role, she worked as a food and beverage coordinator—a role that gave her access to different departments.
That wasn’t the end. Ambitious Djenabou wanted to know the behind the scenes of the hospitality industry, the corporate side. She managed to get a role working with building the brand, inventory, sales, and pricing. Almost 2 years into her role, the company downsized, and she was one of the people they let go. She returned to her previous job working as a reporting analyst. Everything was going smoothly, until the coronavirus pandemic struck, and she was furloughed. However, when the company began to take back employees, she was amongst them.
In 2021, the mother of three launched KND Travel Services (the first initial of her daughters’ names) to merge her love of travel and hospitality. She launched the service hoping to connect it back to her native country, Guinea. Since Guinea is not well known, her motive was to put Guinea on the map and make it a desirable destination place for tourists.
Since the launch of KND Travel Services, the mompreneur has booked flights for people traveling to Guinea. Most of her clients are the elderly who aren’t tech savvy or don’t want to ask their children for assistance.
Rougui Barry, a family friend/cousin, said: “Djenabou is one of the most ambitious women that I know. She works very hard in everything that she does. She is a modern-day woman that works hard and can also be an accomplished mom, wife, and businesswoman. She previously also was my manager and as a manager was hard working and fair. She went above and beyond to ensure the business moved forward and implemented a lot of great ideas into the business.”
“She is also just an amazing companion, and always tries to help with any conflict I may have. She is truly like the big sister I never had and someone who I look up to. As an African woman, she still holds her traditional values but is able to modernize what it means to be a hard-working woman and does it all. No matter what she puts her mind to it gets done. She is the one to have in your corner as a businesswoman, a friend, and family member!”
But Djenabou has not come to a full stop yet. Next, she is planning a couple’s retreat. Though she was fortunate enough to marry the right person and build a solid marriage, she feels many in her community go into marriage life without sufficient knowledge of how to maintain a healthy marriage. This retreat would be a safe space for Guinean couples to come together and give one another valuable advice that could help them nurture marriages filled with love, compassion, and support. “It’s not a community of judging, but learning,” Djenabou expressed about the vibe she hopes to create in her couple’s retreat.
Djenabou’s success story teaches us that sometimes, we have different things that pique our interest. And, we don’t have to have our entire lives figured out upon graduating college. We can choose to explore our passions at our own pace. We may have to go through many turns, try different jobs/roles to get to know ourselves better (i.e., likes and dislikes). But in the end, if we are open-minded and resilient, the trial and errors add to the lessons that help us get closer to knowing what we want for lives.
Inside the Life of a Mompreneur
“Always go for what you want, even if you’re scared. If you have ideas, write them down and tackle them one by one. You don’t have to have your whole life figured out. Find something you like and learn more about what you like doing and see how you can turn that into a career. “-Djenabou Barry
“Happiness is when you feel content in all levels of your life. You’re the best in all levels of your life and you are content with it.”
“ A strong woman is someone that’s humble, fearless, determined, and vulnerable. When you are vulnerable, that’s when you find out what love really is. ”
Connect with Djenabou:
Facebook: @kndtravelservices
Instagram: @kndtravelservices
LinkedIn: Djenabou Barry
Email: KnDTravelServices@gmail.com
Website: https://kndtravelservices.business.site
Read other success stories here: www.iamafricanandican.com/blog
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