It is truly an honor to receive this
award today.
I look around and see so many
change-makers in this room. It has been
an honor to meet many of you and humbling to listen to your stories and learn
about all the work you do for Western New York and the passion that drives you
to be so successful.
I do appreciate being in the
company of all of you.
Thank you so much to the Partnership for this amazing
recognition, Journey’s End who
nominated me and where I am very proud to work for, my family, especially my parents
who have always believed in me, and all the women who I have looked up to over
the years.
Growing up I had many strong women
in my life. I would certainty not be the person I am without their influence –
AND, to my surprise, I catch myself becoming my mother, my sister, and both of
my grandmothers more and more each day. Like them, I find true joy in helping
others. Through them, I learned the value of humanity. And I am grateful.
But my perspective on humanity goes
beyond my childhood, outside of the classroom, away from the office, outside of
this country, and outside of my comfort zone. It is very people that I have
been asked to help that end up becoming my inspiration. When I help I am inspired, when I help I am
helped.
____________________________________
In Zambia, the women I worked
alongside had barely any education, and had never ventured outside their own
village. They had limited resources or means
with which to develop themselves and their families. When I arrived there, I
was ready to go in head-first with my ideas to make things better. I had big
plans to make big changes and show them what I had to offer.
Indeed, I was able to share my
skills and knowledge with the community I worked with and changes were made. I
helped them build a preschool, start community education projects, and ignite
girls’ empowerment clubs. However, what I
learned from the women in that village changed me just as deeply, I learned so
much from them.
These women walk tall and proud,
with children on their backs, firewood balanced on their heads, and 15 liters
of water in their hands. They literally hoist onto the limbs of their bodies all
of the basic needs of their families in order for everyone to survive. These
are women who do not necessarily have a voice in the village meetings but are
in the back of the room silently and rapidly calculating what to put on the
table for dinner and how much they need to ration until harvest season comes
around again. These are women who manage to scrape enough money together to
send 8 children to school each morning with pressed white uniforms (despite
lack of clean water and no electricity for an actual “iron”). These are women who
walk 3 miles in the rain to the nearest clinic to get malaria medicine for
their babies.
These women show courage and raw
bravery on a daily basis.
And at times, my big plans for big
changes would simply turn into listening to their stories, or walking to the
market with them, because when I listened they inspired me to be brave and
courageous too.
_____________________
And I see that same strength in the
clients I work with a Journeys End. These are women who have been through
unreal and unfair situations. These are women who also walk tall and proud - I
am sure you’ve seen them at the bus stop or in the West Side neighborhoods.
These are women who navigate an entirely new system here in America and are
determined to succeed. These are women who surpass language barriers, cross-cultural
challenges, and new weather patterns that even we have a hard time coping with.
I only have to listen for a while before it becomes clear - if these women can
still stand up strong, still hoist the basic needs of their families on the
limbs of their bodies, then I can do my part. By listening, and learning from
others, and by recognizing their courage and power, I too am able to stand
stronger and reach higher.
_______________
Every
nominee here today is here because with her own talent and skill she stands
strong and reaches high. I congratulate all of you. The beauty in this world is
in the diversity of our experiences, knowledge, and cultures. There is so much
to learn from one another, so many ways to collaborate for the common good. We
are inspired when listen and learn - and from that inspiration blooms
greatness.
_______________
So I hope that perhaps now you are
inspired. To go and learn from each other. Whether you are a CEO, a teacher, a
mother, a victim, a survivor, a villager, or a city-dweller, a woman or a man,
I do believe we can never stop being inspired by each other, and together we
can change the world.
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