IWD: Celebrating three exceptional ladies

The three exceptional ladies.

Saturday, March 8, marked International Women’s Day (IWD). I went through a list of all the ladies I have met, and decided to write about three of them. These ladies, I believe are different in every way, but have managed to challenge and shape my thoughts as an individual and a lady for that matter.

Edem Adzaho- CEO, SPEC Consult (photo credit- http://www.specconsult.com)

 

Edem Adzaho – I had an encounter with Edem during a Barclays Bank and British Council organised programme for graduates, about a year ago. She is the CEO of her own company, SPEC Consult. This tall lady walked into a session, very confidently while I sat admiring. She challenged the class to be more inquisitive, adventurous and target the global market as graduates. She admonished us to look for opportunities all over the world.  Spotted in blazers and high heels, this lady shared her experiences and there was never a dull moment in any of her sessions. What made our meeting very special was the fact that she challenged me and others at that point in our lives. How to go global? That was something worth thinking about. In a country where there is a high rate of unemployment, how were we as graduates to challenge ourselves even to get jobs? Most tertiary institutions, do not teach students anything about the job market, from CV writing to making ourselves marketable. From her sessions, most of the graduates developed strategies on how to face the world. Her advice to the class was to write several applications to companies even when they have not advertised for positions or to start our own businesses. I really remember this lady who somehow influenced many young graduates during Blazing Trail, about a year ago.

Avril Kudzi- Deputy-Chief-of-Party, GWASH.

 

Avril Kudzi is the deputy-chief-of-party for the Ghana Water, Hygiene and Sanitation project (GWASH).This lady is very fluent, down to earth with a very pleasant attitude about life .  She is married, has a child, had a job,went to get her masters degree and still managed to get the best student  award for her graduation class. I have observed her on different platforms speaking on various issues, if you listen to her closely, I bet you will definitely buy into her ideas. You can walk to her office anytime with whatever issue, be it personal or career-related and this lady is always willing to assist. My whole impression of her is, where has this lady been all this while? Her type should be given more platforms to express their opinions, especially on national issues.

Victoria Okoye- Technical Advisor , GWASH.(PhotoCredit, africanurbanism.net)

 

Victoria Okoye is the Communications Manager and  the Technical Advisor for the Ghana Water Sanitation and Hygiene Project. She is Nigerian and American.  I have known her for a few months, and I must add that I have never learnt so many things in a short period of time like the way I have now. She is the inspiration behind this blog, when her advise was, ” blog about anything that are you passionate about.” Victoria is smart and knowledgeable; always willing to teach whoever was ready to learn. Most of us grew around people who ‘hoard’ knowledge or information on any subject with the fear that the people they teach, will become better than they are, but Victoria is an exception. She is a computer/technology genius, speaks french, builds and manages websites, a photographer, knows all about social media, and she blogs at africanurbanism.net, which has been featured on the guardian’s best city blogs.

There, I present to you three influential ladies.