Ebrima "Ebou" Dibba was born in Bathurst (now
Banjul), capital of
the Gambia, where he was raised in the prevalent
Wolof culture to which his mother belonged, although his father's family was from Baddibu, a
Mandinka area up-river. Dibba studied French classical literature, and took a year out teaching English in
Toulon, France, before graduating with a B.A. in French Literature. He earned his M.A. degree from
King's College London, and subsequently worked as a teacher at an
adult education centre in
Muswell Hill, north London, in the early 1970s, and at a drug clinic, as well as helping at a youth club in
Kilburn. In 1974 he moved to the adult education center at
Bletchingley,
Surrey, initially to teach modern languages and organise classes for the disadvantaged; then from 1975 he served as the centre's director for much of the next two decades, during which period he also wrote two novels, published in the 1980s. Engaging wholeheartedly with the home counties community, "he saw his role as that of a missionary for African culture" and seemed to take it as a personal blow when the job came to an end in 1993. That same year, Dibba was made a
Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE). Dibba moved on to a life in nearby
Edenbridge, Kent, but died in 2000, aged 57, survived by four children from two marriages. ==Writing==