Meet the THE DJIGENI CRAFT Team

Our Specialists

Bankalie Konneh

President and Co-founder, PA, AOS, BSc, MPH

I wish to extend my sincere thanks, to our Founder and Members of DJIGENI CRAFT, for considering me to serve as the President of this noble Organization.

My roles as President are as follows:

Strategic Leadership: This is my primary responsibility. This involves setting the overall direction and vision for the organization, developing long term goals and making critical decisions that impact the future.

Financial Management: The overseeing of all financial operations within the Organization is extremely important. This includes developing budgets, monitoring financial performance, analyzing financial reports and the ensuring of compliance with regulatory requirements.

Building High Performance Teams: It is very crucial to bring in more progressive workers who will carry out positive work culture. Moreover, provide ongoing feedback, coaching and mentorship to help staff grow and reach their full potential.

External Relations: This includes, representing the Organization at other organizational forums to meet with government officials and the media. Collaboration and partnering with other organizations are essential functions that are carried out.

Caroline N. Konneh

Director for Operations and founder

As a teenager, I came from school hungry. I made a stop at my mother’s house and asked if she had any food for me to eat. She answered that there was none. My mother was handicapped and life was very difficult for her. I then went to my aunt’s house, where I was living. She gave me food to eat. After eating, I began to worry about my mother, especially knowing that she was going without food. The next day, I kept thinking about what to do to help her. I came up with a plan that when school closed for the year, I would find a vacation job.

Fortunately, I got a job with the Liberian Forestry Development Authority. When I received my first paycheck, I came up with a business plan. The money was small but I became more creative. I went from bakery to bakery, which provided me the opportunity to buy 300 empty flour bags. I took the bags to Sierra Leone, a neighboring country, in the town of Koidu, where I had them tie-dyed. I returned to Liberia and gave them to my mother to sell.

I worked very hard while attending AGM Elementary and Junior High School in Monrovia, Liberia. I fully participated in Track and Field, running 100 meters. Through that participation, I was awarded a scholarship to complete my high school education at Wells Hairston High school in Monrovia, Liberia.

When the Liberian Bloody Civil War started, we were forced to leave the country to settle in a neighboring country of Guinea, West Africa. While in Guinea, I was fortunate to be hired by a Non-Profit Organization called Regional Women’s Group. My monthly pay was $100. During that time, my mother, my younger sister and her daughter lived with me in a one bedroom apartment. The rent was $25. The balance of $75 covered the rest of the monthly expenses.

Another war started in Guinea, and we had to return to Liberia. Not too long after that, I got the opportunity to travel to the United States. During my stay here (USA) I always remembered the difficulties I encountered in Liberia. Considering how many young women could be going through similar problems, the idea of DJIGENI CRAFT was born with my husband by my side. We are blessed to have crossed paths with Deb Dierking, who is a true humanitarian.

I work with Deb, and we have known each other for over nine years. She serves as my professor and has been so wonderful in the founding of DJIGENI CRAFT. The whole idea of DJIGENI CRAFT is to take economic empowerment to the marginalized women and disabled in a developing country that will be receptive to our objectives and goals.