International Day of the Girl Child

Happy #Internationaldayofthegirlchild.

Oct 11th was marked worldwide as the International Day of the Girl Child.


The girl child has come a long way, from the days of when girls were only groomed to be wives, mothers and home keepers, to the present world where girls have transformed into women of substance, world leaders, business tycoons, media moguls, film directors etc. Women can now attain the same level of success as men.



(picture credits: salvation army)


Still, there's more to be done, especially in third world and developing countries, where girls are turned into child brides, or forced to under genital mutilation due to cultural beliefs. We most all seek to ensure girls world over have the same opportunities as boys. It is said that if you educate a girl, you educate the nation.



In celebration of this day, I would like to highlight some women who give me inspiration, women who have broken boundaries. Women who can be looked at as role models.


1. Oprah Winfrey

This media tycoon needs no introduction. She is an epitome of self belief, strength and charity. From her days on the Oprah Winfrey Show, to OWN network. She is a very strong advocate for girl child education.

(picture credits: medium.com)

2. Theresa May - Prime Minister, United Kingdom


Love her or hate her, Mrs May, has carried the weight of the nation on her shoulders. She has shown tenacity and strong character even in the face of uncertainty due to Brexit.

(picture credits: capx.co)

3. Ava DuVernay

Movie lovers like myself will know Ava. She is an American movie director, who is the first black female director to be nominated for a Golden Globe Award, for the film Selma. I watched her fantasy file "A wrinkle in Time", and I think all girls, irrespective of race should see that movie. Ava proves, that your never too old chase your dreams.

(picture credits: avaduvernay.com)

4. Serena Williams

 If Serena doesn't motivate you, I wonder who will. She is an American professional tennis player. Serena has won an open record 23 grand slams. I admire her depth, strength, character off and on court, drive and consistency. She defines focus, she defines vision and she defines tenacity. I watched her  #Nike "Just Do It" advert several times with tears rolling down my cheeks. If there is one person in the whole world I would like to meet, its Serena. (Yes, I said it, and desire it, and it shall be unto me, as I desire. )

(picture credits: wohspioneer.org)

5.Shonda Rhimes

If you ever watched "Greys Anatomy", "Private Practice", "Scandal" and more recently, "How to get away with murder"; then you must have heard of Shonda Rhimes. She created the strong women characters we see in Olivia Pope and Annalise Keating. She is an American television producer, screenwriter and author. She was named one of TIME magazine's 100 People Who Help Shape the World, and I couldn't agree less. Shonda is a woman who has it all. Her ability to manage her career and family is a driving force for me. I watched her TED talk (My Year of saying Yes to everything) and I have adapted it into my action-plan.

(picture credits: Ted.com)

6. Mitchelle Obama

When I have a daughter, I plan to call her mitchelle. That's so much an impact Mitchelle has in my life. She is an epitome of grace, character, finesse, strength and intellect. I cant wait ot lay my hands on her book, "Becoming". As the wife to the first black-American president in history, Mitchelle exemplified everything we want our girls to be. In 2014, Mitchelle Obama joined the campaign to bring back school girls who had been kidnapped by Boko Haram in Northern Nigeria. She tweeted a picture of herself holding a poster with the #bringbackourgirls campaign hashtag., thereby, drawing more attention to the plight to these girls. She is a strong advocate for Girl Education, and her popular quote "When they go low, we go high" keeps trending.

(picture credits: forbes.com)

<sup>Finally, a lot of women are doing great things locally within their communities, towns, cities and countries. Women are setting examples for young girls in business, health, technology, law, politics and science.

It is my desire, that every girl child born on this will experience true freedom, and be given the opportunity to dream and live their dreams.

What are you doing to help?

One Love
xx</sup>

Proudly Woman: In Favour of Flexibilty

Proudly Woman: In Favour of Flexibilty: Work-Life balance is a buzzword thrown around, especially in the work environment. As a woman with school age children, it seems like a tra...

In Favour of Flexibilty

Work-Life balance is a buzzword thrown around, especially in the work environment. As a woman with school age children, it seems like a trade-off. Its either family vs. career progression

It has always been the assumption that women cannot have it all; family, career, love and growth without having to sacrifice one for the other. A woman who wants to have a fulfilling career in what ever field, must either let go of love/marriage/children and face squarely her career and vice-versa.

Having taken a 3 year break from mainstream employment to concentrate on family, I passionately desire to have a thriving career in my field and also spend quality time nurturing my kids. As a result of my break, I have lost some years in my career, which I would have to catch up on through methodical planning.

In my present environment, being a full-time working mom comes with a lot of stress and expenses. The average cost of childcare in the UK for 30 hours is between £160.41-£240.00 per week depending on the type of childcare.

In fairness, the UK government has introduced measures to encourage women (parents) to get back into employment. However, lots of women still prefer to stay home to take care of the kids simply because it is cheaper, and generally it feels better.

One would think that in the 21st century; the century that has given us the beautiful technologies for a easier, fast-paced life, things would be different. I mean, in this world of Internet technologies like Facebook, http, cloud-based resources, remote conferencing;women should be able to attain a balance just as easily as men.

I have just recently started job hunting, and top of my priority is a flexible work environment. I don't think its selfish of me to want to have it all. I have already sacrificed some years of my career life, for the good of humanity (I believe procreation is good for posterity and the world).

During a recent discussion on work-life balance with my mentor, He said; There will only be concrete change if women leaders, speak up about it, and strive to create a culture that will enable women with families to attain career growth without sacrificing their families. In summary, Women need to help women.

Thanks to technology, It has become easier for working mothers to stay connected with their families while at work, or work from home. A lot of organizations are also creating an enabling environment for working mothers to thrive via remote work opportunities, and flexible time schedule.

I look forward to seeing more opportunities created for working mothers in the work place. I look forward to seeing more women having it all. I look forward to seeing more and more women in leadership, who have conquered the challenges of striking a balance. I am in favour of flexibility.

Do share your thoughts or advice, on how you have been able to attain work-life balance as career woman.

One Love


(picture credit: Athena Coaching)