On the occasion of the 2018 Valentine day and the next International Women’s day, slated for 8th of March 2018, we at Diversity Management & Consulting Limited have decided to celebrate some attributes of the Woman:
- The symbol of love.
- Resilience personified.
Symbol of LOVE
Who has never felt the unconditional love of the mother? Be you a girl, a boy or a man, you are born of a woman and therefore of a mother. Prince Nico Mbaraga (of blessed memory) defined a mother’s love very vividly in his song titled “Sweet mother”. The line that catches my attention most is “When I dey sick, my mother go cry, cry, cry, she go say instead make I die ooo”. This is a perfect description of the love of a woman. One who is willing to lay down her life for her child. She is the first to rise and the last to sleep. She is quite often taken for granted but always ready to forgive and to love.
At DMC Limited, we have reflected so much on this attribute of the woman and have chosen this 14th February 2018, which is the St. Valentine day celebrated by lovers, to appreciate the woman, the symbol of love. This celebration is a prelude to March 8th which is a day celebrated the World over as the international women’s day. To all the women in the world, DMC says: WE LOVE YOU! YOU ALL ARE OUR VALENTINE!
Resilience personified
Have we ever taken some time to reflect on the impact of the resilience of some women on some major and impactful changes in the world?
Charity begins at home, so I will start with my own mother: Helen ATABONG ASABA FONTEM who was the first woman in our land to be the successor of a man, her father Prince Asaba Nyiawung Fontem! She inherited her father’s property including LAND. Her resilience took her through the courts and she was victorious over her uncles who challenged her for wanting to do what no woman has ever done. Did her resilience bring about an impactful change? Yes, today in our land we have women who have titles of nobility (nkem) which was meant only for men. Women owned coffee farms and now cocoa farms.
My hero, Hillary RODHAM CLINTON almost became the President of the United States of America thanks to her resilience. Today, more and more women in the USA are vying for political positions. What about Dame ROSA PARK? Wangari Maathai, the founder of the green belt movement? We celebrate these and other resilient women who have changed the course of history and brought about irreversible impacts in the world.
Back to Cameroon, we celebrate the Kah Wallah’s, Dr. Diane ACHA MORFAW’s, Dr. Rose LEKE’s, Mrs. Francisca BIAKA’s, Mrs. Esther OMAM’s and many others whose resilience has impacted the Cameroonian socio-economic-health-political arena. We cannot, give enough praise and honor to millions of women farmers and buyam sellam who brave all odds to provide access to food, health and education to their families and the nation at large!
Currently, Cameroon is witnessing the emergence of a vibrant, dynamic and resilient brand of young women entrepreneurs who have refused to bow to the challenging and degrading business climate. These young women are thriving against all odds in the fashion and design sectors, entertainment, information technology & communication and digital driven businesses. We at DMC celebrate you and your resilience and above all, the impact that it is creating in reshaping the outlook and the future of our country. Your resilience is irreversibly designing the Cameroon that you want and not the Cameroon that is being imposed on you.
Finally, we celebrate the women in corporate whose progress cannot happen without resilience as it is often thought that positions of authority and power are meant only for men.