Lighting candles

My vision : A world where women believe in themselves and are confident to be themselves; whether it is a doctor, a teacher, lawyer, farmers, entrepreneur, or a mother.

One of my favorite poems of all times is these words by Marianne Williamson. They may sound cliché but ring true for me who has been held back by fear in the past

\" Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, and fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some of us; it's in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.

But to be all we can be in our journey of life, we need people who pour into us. This is how I look at my life; someone poured of themselves or sowed the seeds of greatness into me.

“There is no such thing as a 'self-made' man. We are made up of thousands of others. Everyone who has ever done a kind deed for us, or spoken one word of encouragement to us, has entered into the make-up of our character and of our thoughts, as well as our success.\" - George Burton Adams (1851-1925)

I would never be where I am if teachers did not pour into my life. (I highly respect teachers for the many lives they build everyday sadly most of their work goes unrecognized). In campus we lecturers who trained our intellect, shaped our world views and helped chart our lives. My favorite lecturers were those that besides training us on academic excellence also poured of themselves during lectures. They taught us their fears, struggle and shared their successes.

For some it was through the simple words like “You can do this “and sometimes it was by asking, “what do you want to do?’ They made me believe I could be what I wanted to be.

Strangers have also poured into my life. Some said nothing, but the things they never said were always heard. Their lives spoke to me. My aunties and friends have also poured greatness into my life.My grandmother sowed into my mother’s life then my mother sowed into sisters and my life…and so the chain continues….

Back to my vision; I want to help build women’s confidence so that they believe they can the best they can be.
How do I want to do this? My vision is to start mentorship programme for girls in high schools. I went to a boarding school where we had “school mums. This were girls who a year or two ahead of us. We were required to do the same for the students who came after us. They were, meant to be our “coaches.” The problem is that most some of us didn’t know how to be mothers and were only mother by name. How can I coach you if I haven’t been coached?

That’s where Pulswire comes in. I hope to learn how to be a coach to someone else., I live by the mantra that a candle looses nothing by lighting another. I think of my life as a candle, and sometimes the wind blows and as much as I want to keep burning the fire goes off. Everyday many women stop by and through the stories we get inspired, challenged and roused out of our comfortable places. WP is a place where I can come and relight my wick.

Being a part of the VOF will help me do the same for the girls in my country. All I want to do is light is candles that will light others when mine burns out.