My father once told me when I was a young girl that I was destined to do great things. His belief in my abilities and ambition is rooted deeply in the spirit of Malawians; resilient and determined for a better Malawi and a better Africa.
Interpretation
A father's faith in his child's potential ignites a spirit of resilience and ambition.
This quote highlights the profound impact of parental belief on a child's aspirations and self-worth. Joyce Banda reflects on how her father's encouragement instilled a sense of destiny and purpose in her, tying it to the broader context of resilience and determination of her nation, Malawi, and the African continent as a whole.
In practice
This quote can inspire students at a graduation ceremony to believe in themselves.
When I gave birth to my fourth child, I suffered from post partum hemorrhaging. I almost lost my life. I was lucky to be under the care of trained health care personnel. I started wondering then what was happening to women in rural villages.
You ask how I feel to be the first female president in southern Africa? It's heavy for me. Heavy in the sense that I feel that I'm carrying this heavy load on behalf of all women.
I sat down in 1989 and I made up my mind at that point that I was going to spend the rest of my life assisting women and youth to gain social and political empowerment through business and education. I convinced myself economic empowerment of women was going to be key, especially in a country like this where most women didn't go to school.
I convinced myself economic empowerment of women was going to be key, especially in a country like this where most women didn't go to school.
An African woman carries heavy loads anyway. That's how we are trained; we are brought up that nothing is unbearable. I use that now, positively. I use that now to have the thick skin that I have, and not fear, and move forward, and push; and push forward.
It is only when a woman is economically empowered that she can negotiate at household level with her husband about the number of children that body of hers can have.
I don't condemn anyone for making their choices. If someone chooses those roles, fine. But not for me. When someone stops me and says, You're the reason I became an actress, that lets me know I made the right decision
If you don't imagine, nothing ever happens at all.
And because nobody's done it before, they haven't made up rules to stop anyone doing that again, yet.
I was not naturally talented. I didn't sing, dance or act, though working around that minor detail made me inventive.
Each and every one of you has the power, the will and the capacity to make a difference in the world in which you live in
I always say I stumbled on the information about the poison in Hinkley's drinking water because I was sort of stumbling about in my life at that time generally, as a single mother.
Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.