“Being a leader simply means opening a door and starting to act” - Tchonté Silué (Côte d’Ivoire) - 4/4

This is the last part of our conversation with Tchonté Silué, an Ivorian blogger and entrepreneur in the education sector. Previously, she talked about her love for books, her childhood as a hard-working girl (Part 1), her conversion to Islam (Part 2), her resistance using social media, and about her library the Eulis Centre (Part 3). In the last part, Tchonté shares her thoughts on solidarity as well as her goals for the Ivorian education system.

Tchonté was interviewed by Françoise Moudouthe in late 2019, as part of a global project documenting girls’ resistance. The conversation was edited into this four-part interview by Nana Bruce-Amanquah and Chanceline Mevowanou for our #GirlsResistWA series. You can learn more about the series here.

Trigger Warning: This conversation may contain mentions of violence and abuse that may be triggering for readers. Kindly take a moment to decide if you want to keep reading. If you proceed, we encourage you to focus on your well-being and stop reading at any point if you need to.

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When did you feel that your resistance was becoming more collective? How do your path and your actions connect to something more collective?

With the Eulis Center, I realised that I couldn’t do it all on my own and that I needed the help of others. People spontaneously came to me and said: “I’d like to volunteer here”. That’s when I realised that we could achieve more by working together, as a team. What I lack, others can fill in with their skills. It’s something I noticed in the other communities I’m a part of, as well. I discovered various profiles and these encounters motivate me. Sometimes, when I doubt or feel weak, I can see someone and think: “If they succeeded in doing that, I can too”.

Did you find a similar strength in collective action on social media? How do you reflect on the impact of collective action on online resistance?

Yes! I am part of an organization called Global Shapers. It's a global network of young leaders that is one of the other communities I mentioned. Every year at the beginning of the school year, we collect donations of school kits. One year, we set ourselves the goal of collecting at least 100,000 francs each. I posted about it and at least five people reached out to me. They were not people I was close to, just people who followed me on social networks. People who don't know me but who supported my actions. I also think that maybe it's because they saw that I wanted to change things. I think there are a lot of good people out there who just don't know how to help. So, once you set up a little bit of a framework, people naturally follow.

Same thing when it comes to resistance. When I wrote my article to talk about self-esteem linked to appearance, many people told me: "Thank you very much because I also had complexes and I did not necessarily see things like that". For me, many people think like us. It's just that we must talk about it to discover them. What I mean is that collective empowerment is possible. But it happens when someone jumps in to be a bit of a leader. And being a leader simply means opening a door and starting to act, it's taking the first step so that others can follow.

You talked about the movements you are involved in. There is the Eulis Center where you are the leader. And there are other movements, Ahiman Women and Global Shapers, where you contribute as a mentor or member. Do you act differently in these different positions?

For the Eulis Center, it's my image that is put forward. And so, that means I must get more involved! Ten times more. Now, the Eulis Center is a central part of my life. The people who support it are just passing through. They may come to help me, but they will leave. That's how I am in the other movements, too. These are movements where I am there, I contribute, but I can leave too. At Ahiman Women, for instance, four young women are founders. The other members of the group carry the organization with them, but I can say at any time "I need a break so I'm going to leave" without it being a major issue. I am replaceable. Whereas at the Eulis Center, for now, I'm not replaceable. That's the difference. But it's still the same thing that I continue to do through these different organizations. Whether it's Ahiman, Global Shapers, or the Eulis Center, it's always the fight for education.

What does solidarity mean to you? You talked about the people who have supported you through social networks and your involvement in these other movements. How does this solidarity manifest itself in your life?

Solidarity, for me, is being useful, being able to give something to the other. It can be just by sharing their project, by being active, or by giving my time because I believe in the vision of the person. I receive help from both women and men who have come to support me because they believe in the project I have decided to create.

When you find yourself in a space of solidarity, how do you feel? Can you tell me about a time when you felt the solidarity very strongly, one way or the other?

A fellow student at the university contacted me. He is a member of an NGO that organises a distribution of kits every year, and he called me because he knows that I like community initiatives. The NGO wanted to distribute 10,000 meals. He invited me to help pack the meals. And then he asked me to tell people about it. I posted about it and a few people came with me. There were a lot of people at the event, and it was beautiful. I felt great joy. It's almost an indescribable feeling. I was just happy. It's the kind of thing that makes me feel good about myself and the community and all the people I know. And I felt blessed. It's so mundane, but I would think I was useless if I didn't help others.

What are the challenges that hold back your power to help others?

It's hard to convince everyone of the importance of education and books. When you take cases from underprivileged families, some people are like "We already sent the kid to school, it ends there." So, to be able to tell them “No, there's more," is a big challenge. There are also challenges related to financial means. But I think my biggest challenges are related to myself and impostor syndrome.

Today, is there anything you want to do that your impostor syndrome still prevents you from doing?

No! If I decide to try things, even when I doubt, there is no real obstacle. Today I'm very happy because I'm doing exactly what I want to do.

That's fantastic! How do you think you have impacted the world with your resistance?

Recently, I attended a meeting, where I was to talk about my passion for reading and writing. I was with two other women as well, and there were 19 women in total, who were there to listen to us. When we spoke, there was a lot of emotion, there were tears. Some said that we are lucky to be able to do what we do, because they may not have had the support or the courage to do the things that make them tick, as I say.

For me, my impact on the world, beyond saying that I'm educating people, is the fact that by doing what I love, I'm giving other people the freedom to do the same. It's the same feeling I get when I look at people like Anne Marie Befoune and Mylène Flicka. I know they have their doubts too. But they still try to be true to what they believe in. I want to be me. I tell myself that through what I do, I can show other people to be themselves and assert themselves.

When you think about the world you want to create, a world where you have achieved what you want to do in terms of education and self-confidence, what does it look like? And how feasible do you think creating that world is, in the time that you are alive?

I'm very realistic. I know that I'm not necessarily going to achieve the big goal of my life. Maybe I'm not going to achieve it, but at least I want to lay the groundwork so that it can be achieved one day. My goal is to transform education in general. At the same time, I'm aware that there are a lot of political obstacles that slow down change. I know it's a long way to go to transform our education system as it is right now. So, my goal right now as a member of civil society is to bring books everywhere and make sure that there are libraries everywhere in Ivory Coast. Because I say to myself that if you give a book to a person, you can help them educate themselves. This is the future for me.

Tchonté, you’re undoubtedly the one who can achieve that. Thank you for sharing your story with us! Click here to discover the other stories of the series.