VOF WEEK 2: (MY FIRST LOVE)

It is days like this that I bow down to all women of the world, who are mothers. I am single, with no children and right now I live with my two cousins who are adults in their 20’s. I come home from work and all I want to do is crawl into bed and sleep. How did our mothers do it? Raise a family, work, take care of their husbands?
Being the first born girl in an African family, I learnt early that it is the girls/women who take care of the home. I learnt how to cook and mind my siblings at an early age. I did not mind taking care of my brothers. In fact, I loved it. Having responsibilities, my parents trust.
I was also privileged to have parents who understand the importance of education and so I went to school. And there I discovered my first love, reading. From the moment I came across the school library in standard 4, when I was about 11 years old, I found my niche. I could get lost in the world of books, and still do. To me, the written word is the greatest invention ever made.
Words impart knowledge, inform, give hope, uplift, encourage, entertain but most important of all give us a medium to express ourselves.
Every person, given a chance, has a story to tell. The greatest stories are those that are unstructured, not confined to ideals or norms. Stories that are told, because they are stories.
Every day of my life, I thank God, for my parents. They have shaped my life and helped me to be who I am today. They believed in me, trusted me and gave me the opportunity to pursue my dreams, follow my heart and accomplish all that I have. It is amazing what difference it makes when you have someone who believes in you.
World pulse community is for me, the next best thing to a library. I came across the site from a link on the Association for Women’s Rights Development website. There are stories here. Informative, intellectual, personal stories. It is like sitting down with the girls on a weekend rehashing your week.
My vision is to have a society where women are empowered. It starts with a small step as being literate; to be able to read and write. Imagine what feats we could accomplish with just 10 literate women per village; one per household! It might seem inconsequential, but think of the number of women who never went to school, but who have managed to raise and maintain a family and send their own children to school, even as they stay home.
I again salute all women, mothers, aunts, grandmothers, sisters, nieces. They have touched our lives, one way or another.
I want one day, to be able to look back, and see the people whose lives I have touched, influenced, changed ( hopefully for the better) and have them tell my story.