A few weeks ago, I spent a really enjoyable morning dubbed ‘Mommy Conversations’ with a group of young mothers brought together by Amira Africa, a platform that seeks to motivate, elevate and encourage young moms. Founded by Fiona Okadia, Amira Africa provides a virtual support network for young moms and puts together events like this, both to empower and inspire.
I was humbled to be invited by Fiona to join a panel together with three other impressive women: Ann Mitu is working with the group Young Africa Mothers (a group creating awareness around early pregnancies) and offered an inspiring presentation on sexual and reproductive health including how young girls can take advantage of family planning to guard their futures, Brenda Wanjiru a single mom of a beautiful girl plus a successful police officer with the CID, shared her inspiring story of how her determination and resilience has allowed her to rise through the ranks of the police force at a very young age, and Samoina Wangui, a single mom to a 4-year-old boy, shared her experience with postpartum depression including the associated risk factors, symptoms, and possible treatment options.
My own talk focused on the challenges of balancing motherhood with a budding career, and I encouraged the young moms to make time for and engage themselves in activities that they are passionate about. As I told them “the best time to start working on things you are passionate about was last year; the second best time is now”. I urged them to embrace motherhood and not let it halt them from following their dreams.
It was an amazing experience to listen to my fellow panellists and discovering that I felt perfectly at ease to open up and be in the company of other moms where each of us supplemented each other to respond as adequately as we could to the concerns and questions of the lovely ladies present.
We had such a great time together and enjoyed mingling after the formal session had come to an end. I will share this look in a subsequent post.
