When they were 10 and 14, brothers Abdoulaye and Ibrahima Barry set out to invent an alphabet for their native language, Fulfulde, which had been spoken by millions of people for centuries but never had its own writing system. While their friends were out playing in the neighborhood, Ibrahima, the older brother, and Abdoulaye would shut themselves in their room in the family\u2019s house in Nz\u00e9r\u00e9kor\u00e9, Guinea, close their eyes and draw shapes on paper. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
When one of them called stop they\u2019d open their eyes, choose the shapes they liked and decide what sound of the language they matched best. Before long, they\u2019d created a writing system that eventually became known as ADLaM. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The brothers couldn\u2019t have known the challenges that lay ahead. They couldn\u2019t have imagined the decades-long journey to bring their writing system into widespread use, one that would eventually lead them to Microsoft. They wouldn\u2019t have dreamed that the script they invented would change lives and open the door to literacy for millions of people around the world. <\/p>\n\n\n\n