International Women’s Day: celebrating inspirational women!
To celebrate International Women’s Day, we have asked some of the women at Creating Better Futures to share the women who inspire them.
Dorothy, CEO.
I would like to celebrate so many women on International Women’s Day. Some of these women have achieved incredible things in the public eye, whilst some have made a great impact on me personally. My International Women’s Day inspiration is someone who has done both! It’s my Mum, Beverley.
My mum worked so hard to raise me as a child. It’s only as I have grown up that I have realised how hard she worked. She worked long hours in low paid jobs, just to give me the opportunity to recieve an education. There would be no Creating Better Futures without her.
I am inspired by my Mum because she didn’t stop changing lives with my own, she continued to do it with Creating Better Futures. She leads our work on the in Zimbabwe. Creating Better Futures have strong connections to our communities, and Mum is a huge part of this. She makes sure sponsored children are progressing in class and supports any parents when they need it. As a community based charity, this is so important!
Falisha. Placement student.
I believe International Women’s Day is about celebrating all women; regardless of their background or identity.
A guardian angel in disguise. My friend Victoria has shown me there is no singular path to success. Despite being from a BAME background from East London, she has been able to break multiple barriers. She became the second student from our secondary school in Hackney to attend Cambridge University. Going on to landing a gap year internship at Accenture and at the USGS, experiences documented by a blog she wrote for Black Ballad, a platform giving a voice to Black Women.
At University she’s secured roles as an Undergraduate Representative and a Student Ambassador as well as a College Access Ambassador; offering guidance to visiting students from diverse backgrounds. In addition to this she works closely with The Social Mobility Foundation, assisting with ensuring visits to the University by students from disadvantaged state schools.
Most empowering of all was the fact that she sought these opportunities out through her own initiative at a young age. She taught me that you should never let your background stop you whether financial or racial, and importantly to always build a support network through your experiences which empower you. She remains humble and driven, a mentor outside of her personal commitments, and a role model to young ambitious women striving for better.
Could you create the next International Women’s Day inspiration?
You could change a girl’s life with one action. By sponsoring them, you could give them the education they need to start their life changing journey. Email info@creatingbetterfutures.org.uk to hear about girls in need of sponsorship.
