Meet Jibao – Our Newest Web Developer

Posted by Zak under Team

Hi there my name is Jibao Mansaray. Both of my names as you can tell are native. Jibao means “let God save this one” and Mansaray means “King”. My native language is Mende but sadly I don’t speak Mende. The reason for this is that I am a bit too lazy to learn a new language and secondly, we didn’t speak Mende at home. Each of my parents had their own native language so we just spoke ‘Pigeon English’.

I am the eldest of two boys and six sisters - this family may seems huge but it was lots of fun growing up with that many sisters. I had a significant number of test ‘Guinea pigs’ for my pranks and eye-wetting jokes - hope none of them ever read this!

If I have the chance to revisit my old home I would be more than willing to but my childhood wasn’t always fun. My native country is a little one on the west coast of Africa called Liberia which has been affected by civil war for over eighteen years. At the age of eight I fled with my family to a neighbouring country called Guinea where we lived for ten years. These ten years I consider the hardest in my life so far and in early 2000 civil war also broke out in Guinea which forced me to look for refuge in Ghana.

It was in Ghana that my interest in computing and electronics actually surfaced – but it was by no accident. I was in one of the world’s biggest refugee’s camps, Buduburam and communicating by phone or e-mail was not cheap. I needed a way to have free access to computers so I started researching online for tutorials, reading blogs or anything that has to do with granting someone free computer access. Over time I was able to build my skills and after saving some funds, I enrolled at a computer institution called IPMC, Intercom Programming and Manufacturing Company. Embedded system development was my major at IPMC but after two semesters and hanging with other students, I came to like web and application development as well.

On November 17, 2006 I moved to beautiful Australia. The ease of communication, better living condition and friendly locals have moved me to call this place my home. I now have the privilege to complete my education and presently am doing that through the University of Southern Queensland studying computer science with a major in applied computer science and network security. After trying very hard to get a job in the industry but to no avail, I worked as a labourer for four years.

In August this year, 2011, I was offered an entry position at PX Webdesign as a web developer.
Working at PX Webdesign is one of the best things that have ever happened to me. My co-workers are all awesome and the working environment is state of the art. Most importantly, PX gave me the opportunity to do what I love doing and I thank everyone at PX Webdesign for making me feel as part of the team and welcoming me with open hands.