Thank you, Sisters: We Continue.
My dear sisters,
After five years of our work together for women’s leadership in Africa, time has come for me to open a new chapter. I would like to use this opportunity to express my deep gratitude for what we have achieved together. This is not farewell: this is we continue, always together.
If I have seen further, it is by walking in the footsteps of giant women, starting with my mother, Marie, who have paved the way for other women before my generation was born. And together with the new generation of young women advocating for and building transformative change worldwide, we honor the good fight and commit to continue raising the torch high so that the next generation of women and girls can too be fully themselves and thrive.
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My parents raised me with the understanding that one’s mission in life is to care for each other and to plant seeds, nurture them and — if we are lucky — see them grow.
As a passionate young woman, in 2016 I embarked on the journey to support the vision, establishment, and operationalization of the African Women Leaders Network (AWLN), which was built with the strength and dedication of incredible African women on the continent and throughout the world.
Serving the mission of AWLN has been a great honor. I have been able to offer my time and energy for an incredible vision and to witness firsthand the strength, resilience, passion and commitment of women, from the Eastern to the Western coasts and from the Northern to the Southern lands of Africa, the islands and the vibrant diaspora.
As I served, I realized that one common, but essential, ingredient was fueling the positive change we were seeing: women were coming together and rising to rally around a shared vision and mission to build the transformative change we desperately wanted to see.
African women have spearheaded change for a very, very, long time at both institutional and policy levels (Pan-African Women’s Organization (PAWO)as a clear example) as well as on the ground through women’s led grassroots movements.
Since the launch of the platform in 2017, important work led by African women continued: missions of solidarity were conducted in conflict and sensitive zones, clear plans of actions were adopted and operationalized through grassroots and policy engagements, and strong multi-stakeholders’ partnerships were built to center meaningful women’s leadership and gender equality. Women came at the forefront and addressed international bodies on key issues that have a direct impact on women’s and girls’ participation and well-being. Furthermore, strong intergenerational partnerships, among young and more senior women, were built and strengthened over the years to build together a roadmap that encapsulates our common past, our cherished present and our envisioned future.
Together, young and senior women are tapping into each other’s skills, capabilities and knowledge to deliver on important agendas, including the 2030 United Nations Agenda for Sustainable Development and Agenda 2063 “The Africa We Want.”
I am humbled to have served the women of Africa through AWLN within the continent and on the global stage. Doing so, I learned early on an important lesson from Dr. Joyce Banda, former President of Malawi, which I put at the core of my service:
“Leadership is a love affair: we must fall in love with the people we serve.”
Over the years, I have listened to, sat with and witnessed with love and care the leadership of incredible women, across sectors, ages and regions, who have all positively impacted me and many other women and men around them. The voice of each woman was a seed planted and nurtured in my heart. This positive impact drove my day-to-day work for the women and youth of Africa.
I wish to wholeheartedly thank you for this privilege.
Serving you was a transformative experience of giving, learning and growth. It was a journey through which I have learned and was challenged to give my all. It was a journey which helped me solidify my purpose to be of service for women and young people by building transformative change. This experience helped me prepare for the continuity of the journey — and the Ubuntu philosophy remains at the core of my path. For this I am grateful.
As I am getting ready to start a new chapter, my commitment is stronger than ever. This is not a farewell: this is We continue, Together. You can count on my strong support, as a daughter and a sister, as we continue together the good fight for dignity, inclusion, gender equality, women’s dignity, and meaningful leadership at all levels. To the women who fought for gender equality and women’s leadership before us: we see you, we thank you and we honor you. We are standing because you stood and you are still standing strong.
And to my young women sisters, remember:
“You have to act as if it were possible to radically transform the world. And you have to do it all the time.” ― Angela Davis
With love and solidarity,
Always.
Verlaine
