The prodigal blogger returns
Hello!
Kushe!
Bonjour!
That's right, Mina Bilkis is back and for those who observe the Islamic faith - Jumma Mubarak (Happy Friday)!
Did you miss me?
Of course you did, what a question. But it's alright, I missed you too!
So...Mina Bilkis is back!
Back from her 7 week social media detox. Back from living her best life in Lagos and Abuja, Nigeria for the better half of September. But most importantly, back to doing what she likes and loves -- which is connecting with each and everyone of you who reads my posts, shouts me out and supports my work.
You didn't think you'd start September without me -- did you?
Granted I'm a little late 🌚, but you all know I love to make an entrance and with this entrance is my introduction -- or reintroduction rather.
Allow me to reintroduce myself...
Hi! I'm Yasmine (well that's my government name LOL), but I go by Mina. Depending on the space you're acquainted with me in ,you may know me as either so don't be confused. I am indeed the same person 😃.
For those of you in Freetown, Sierra Leone you may know me as the language tutor and teacher. For the past 7 years since I relocated to Sierra Leone in 2014 from the United States I had been teaching in various schools and institutions across the city. From 2016-2019 I taught, tutored and trained International Non-Governmental Organization (INGO) and NGO staff in English, Krio and French and translated occasionally under my business Mina Bilkis & Co.
Life update -- I'm no longer a teacher :)
With the pandemic, came a lot of introspection for many -- myself being one of those many. Teaching I believe is a calling and a profession each individual should experience at least once in their many lifetimes in this holistic journey called life itself. It is when you teach and pass a message on to a student you understand the values and importance of service, dignity and contribute to the national development of a country as you work to shape the mind of someone else who will impact the future.
In life, I do not believe one should become comfortable, you can get complacent -- in my experience at least. I felt I had become comfortable with teaching and frankly it was no longer challenging. I have trained and taught dozens of international staff and had over 200 students both children and adults. In a city like Freetown that is small and everyone practically knows each other to the stray dog walking across Wilkinson Road, once you have a niche it is fairly easy to reach pinnacles. From teaching ambassadors to actual millionaires (United States Dollars please, not Leones as Le 1,000,000 is now less than $100 USD 😂) in my beloved city, I felt that I am ready for the next journey in my life.
I've rebranded and fully accepted who I am which is a Content Creator + Social Entrepreneur.
Mina Bilkis offers content creation, personal development and business strategy services to individuals, brands and organizations.
The perfectionist in me is still working on some final tweaks on the website and will complete the rebranding process on September 30 2021. But I wanted to share a sneak peak with you all.
I'll be doing a giveaway in the month of October for those in Freetown and will open a global one after the first giveaway as a little token of my appreciation of your support over the years. To qualify for the giveaway, simply give me feedback on the new website by filling out this form. Submit by September 29 2021 and I will randomly select a winner on October 7 2021, so be sure you're following me on socials to find out if you're the lucky winner (and what you'll be winning)!
For those out of Freetown, feel free to give me feedback anyways, I just won't enter your name in the giveaway is all haha.
For those who passed my name to a prospective client, for those who liked my blogs and shared them and even to those who may have brought my name up during their pillow talk time haha -- I would like to thank each and everyone of you all for your support for I couldn't be here today without you all.
How can you continue to support Mina Bilkis?
As you've done before. Have a communications project you need a consultant for? Hit me up.
Need capacity and team building for your organization? Email me.
Want to advertise your business with me or be featured on Mina Bilkis? Let me know.
Have a money tree and want to bequeath it to me? I'm there.
What to expect from Mina Bilkis?
Your favorites such as Top 7 Things To Do in Freetown, and if you follow me on Instagram (if you don't, what are you waiting for? @minabilkis) #TalkToMeTuesday will be returning in October as well as #StoryTimeWithMina on Twitter (@minabilkis) on Sundays. I also have a few gems and new content that I'll be rolling out during the last quarter of 2021 so watch out for that. As we say in Krio 'tok af, lef af!' (say some, leave some out). Expect some new topics on my blog such as Reviews, Interviews and my 100 Sierra Leoneans series.
Also, be sure to subscribe and if you aren't already and follow me on socials, trust me you'll never be bored.
Till the next post!
Mina Bilkis.
ergo sum cogito