Recognition by Seniors and Peers !!!

When I was younger, my father used to take me with him at different places that were meaningless for the very active girl I was: political party meetings, traditional leaders meetings, sensitization campaigns, clan meetings. There were times I got bored by those gatherings and when I asked why he would always bring me there and not my elder brothers for instance, He used to say “You will understand one day”. I was below 12 years old… though he didn’t live to see the materialization of what he saw in me

Today, all this becomes clear to my mind: daddy wanted me to get ready for a great future, to be a leader one day. He wanted me to see and understand from an early age that it is only hard work that brings recognition. This is something I became conscious of with the POWER-UP modules and sessions.

Indeed, I have been advocating for women’s and girl-children rights for the last 10 years, with more vocal roles since 2008. Before I only did advocated for young women because I didn’t want any girl to be a victim of injustice of any sort, not because or I go through what I went through, not because I thought I had the capacity to do so.

I have attended different meetings, seminars, for a, workshops in Africa, in Europe and in Asia. If in a few situations, my participation was a self-made decision, in most of the cases people who have seen me acting for more protection and promotion of the rights of women and girl-children have been sharing information, encouraging me, pushing me to apply and even sponsoring me because they were convinced that the gains obtained will further nourish my work and help me furbish my weapons in order to obtain better results for the good of the beneficiaries. 

An illustration is from the Embassy of Switzerland in the DRC. They heard about me and instead of calling me for a meeting at their offices, their Gender project coordinator came to me for a courtesy visit that quickly turned into a sponsorship for the Festival (the Embassy insisted that the convention had to be signed between the Embassy and me as Festival Coordinator) and later on, a co-optation to a task force in charge of discussing the core reasons of the continuously degrading status of women in DRC. I did not realize that I was the only representative of the youth out of 25 members of that task force comprising current members of national parliament, former ministers, religious and traditional leaders, as well as key personalities from the DRC civil society movement. Who am I to be so blessed and start networking with senior peoples who are all over 45 years old and accepted by my peers?

I am grateful, i have come to appreciate the gift of life and stopped complaining about what i don't have, my health....

My hard work has offered me that recognition from seniors or peers within the human society, I didn’t trust myself and my work in the past, but my peers and even seniors came to me for advice, for contributions in their work, I would always ask myself why are they asking me?

With the self-awareness I gained through the coaching session I can say, my father like many other people who have trusted me, recommended me, or pushed me to my best  saw the potentials I couldn’t see.  

This is something I wouldn’t have understood easily without my coaching sessions. 

The program is ending, but my journey continues