MY CHOICE OF BEING A DIGITAL NOMAD🌍💻

Just hours before I was honoured with the Active Citizens Award – Oby Ezekwesili Award for Women Advocacy on 24 July 2026 at the Civic Center, Victorial Island. Lagos, I participated in the West Africa CivicTech Conference, surrounded by innovators, technologists, civic actors, advocates and changemakers from different West African countries.

As I listened to conversations about technology, citizenship, innovation, governance and the future of our communities, I found myself reflecting on a choice I made many years ago, the choice to embrace technology and allow it to become part of how I pursue my purpose.

When I started Girls Education Mission International I had no single connection, no status, no financial resources and no established platform. What I had was a lived experience. Because I knew what it felt like to almost drop out of school due to financial constraints. That experience became the foundation of a burning passion and a vision that every girl, regardless of where she comes from should have the opportunity to learn, grow and realise her full potential.

At the starting point, I did not know exactly how that vision would unfold, but I knew I had to keep learning, and somewhere along the way I discovered technology. So I wholeheartedly embraced ICT and began deliberately building my skills, from website and Android app development and SEO to front-end and back-end development and eventually full-stack web development.

I started building and teaching how to build websites., learning from people I had never met, connecting with opportunities beyond my immediate environment and using digital platforms to tell stories, communicate ideas, advocate for girls and women, build relationships and make my work visible.

Although Technology did not create my vision, it gave my vision wings. It helped me move from simply having an idea to being able to build, communicate, connect, advocate and create Impact.

With Technology, my voice grew, my connections expanded, my work travelled further and possibilities began to emerge in places I could not physically reach. And that is where my choice of being a Digital Nomad comes in. For me, being a Digital Nomad is not simply about working from anywhere, it is a conscious choice to remain curious, adaptable, connected and willing to learn while using technology to carry my work and purpose beyond geographical boundaries. It means I can learn, connect and build from anywhere and collaborate across borders and carry my purpose wherever the work takes me.

Technology taught me that I did not have to wait until I had all the resources, connections or recognition before I could begin. Instead, I learnt I could start with what I had, learn what I needed, build what I could, connect with others, create opportunities and keep moving.

Today, my journey sits at the intersection of education, girls' and women's empowerment, advocacy, social entrepreneurship, Leadership, web development and digital transformation. And through this journey, I have experienced how technology can become more than a tool. I have experienced technology as an enabler of possibility helping a small organisation tell its story to the world. I see Technology helping changemakers reach beyond the immediate community, connecting young people to knowledge and opportunities, help in collection and use of data better, identifying problems earlier and responding differently.

Technology also helps us reimagine how citizens interact with systems and how communities participate in creating solutions. That is why the West Africa CivicTech Conference resonated so deeply with me. The conversations reminded me that CivicTech is not simply about building digital tools, but about asking important questions:

How can technology serve people better?

How can it strengthen participation?

How can it amplify voices?

How can it improve access?

How can it make systems more responsive?

How can innovation ensure that the people we are trying to serve are not left behind?

These questions connect deeply with my own journey because I have never embraced technology simply because it is new or exciting. I embrace technology because there are problems I want to solve and possibilities I want to create. This is why I believe the future belongs to those who combine compassion with innovation, Purpose with Technology and bold ideas with courageous action.

So, my choice of being a Digital Nomad is really a choice to keep learning, keep building, keep connecting and keep exploring what is possible. It is a choice to refuse to let geography define the reach of my purpose. It is a choice to use technology not just to work, but to create, serve, advocate and make an impact.

Sometimes you begin with no connections, no status and no money, but however you can begin.

You can learn, embrace the tools available to you, build and Connect, make your work visible and keep moving.

And today, I choose to keep learning, keep building and keep carrying that purpose wherever the digital journey takes me.

That for me, is the choice of being a Digital Nomad.

#InsideLife of a #DigitalNomad Keturah Shammah

#TheGirlvangelist www.keturahshammah.com