International woman’s day…‎

Yesterday as i was driving home comfortably seated in my car and driven by a driver I looked outside and my eyes met an old woman carrying heavy wooden sticks tied around a stained piece of material. She was walking slowly a piece of cloth wrapped around her waist …And my mind started wandering; she certainly had to do this to feed her children and to send them school, was she a widow? Or maybe her husband is unemployed? Questions were rolling out in my head when few meters further I see two young ladies with basins full of bread on their heads and so on…
Where are the men? Wrong question I told to myself, they are independent women fighting to have their own income, to make a difference in their lives and in their children; mother or sister’s lives. They are showing examples to my driver’s wife who doesn’t make any effort to take control of her life by selling few vegetables on a table, powdered milk or canned tomato paste in front of her house. They are showing examples to all those married women who just wait for their husband to give them a monthly allowance; they are an inspiration for all my sister abused by men because they have no choice.
My mother has always been a great role model to me: she was a widow at 20 and she already had me then, I was four years old. In Africa once your husband dies, some in-laws concentrate on taking everything from the grieved widow and her orphaned kids. And that was the case of my uncles. But Mum never gave up she fought and got a scholarship to study in France and from there became a very successful business woman; always on the go ready; ready to fight for her children and always sharing with others. She has friends all over Africa and everywhere I go, I can be proud of being her daughter. She has set the pace for us and is an examples for most of her nieces and friends. She lost her mother at eight and was raised by a wicked aunt of hers but she forgave long time ago and sent her to Makah few years ago. She gave me everything I could dream of ,made most of my dreams come true (I went on a trip around the world at 24), gave me opportunities to learn English by sending me to the States and England since I was twelve; She spoilt me with designers clothes and watches since I was in High School. I never had to envy anybody whether a President’s or a billionaire’s child. I was judged by my teachers to be a very balanced child even though I was raised by a single Mum; so if I am who I am today it is because my Mum took control of her life and decided to make a difference that I am who I am now: Independent, strong and hardworking.
Two days ago, I was walking by the river with a friend and we bumped into a tiny little girl selling papayas, carrots and bananas. We started chatting with her whilst buying two papayas and she told us that she was nine years old and still going to primary school!!!!! It was 7:15 p.m when we left and she was there standing, still waiting for customers.
I don’t want to comment that story because I don’t know anything more about her background but one thing I am sure about is if she can do it we can do it. So let’s make sure that from today you will work on making things happen in your life: Write if you want to write, learn designing, be a party planner, or anything else you feel like : just live your life to the full and be in charge.Have a great day!