The Power to Empower

I AM AN EMPOWERED WOMAN. 

No matter how large or small, the community is an important resource for the empowerment of women. This is my belief; and I am always searching for ways in which my community can empower me , my daughter, and other women in my circle.

EMPOWERMENT BUILDS RELATIONSHIPS!
RELATIONSHIPS CREATE CHANGE!

"EMPOWERMENT-"

I hear this word all the time. I use this word all the time.  But what does it really look like? Empowerment, according to an internet definition, is the process of increasing the capacity of individuals or groups to make choices and to transform those choices into desired actions or outcomes. In my own words, I guess empowerment would look like..........

• Helping someone to identify their own strengths
• Helping someone to identify their own ability
• Helping someone to identify their own self worth
• Helping someone to embrace their equality and to acknowledge their own networking system
• Providing opportunities for women to be engaged in open and flexible environments that promote the utilization of  these potentials

For The Sake of Clarity-

• Having money is not always a  representation of empowerment.
• Resiliency does not exclude the presence of struggle.
• Children do not have to make straight As in school or to go to college to be empowered and resilient.
• Empowerment does not mean doing it all alone; social connections  matter.

Connecting women to community resources will definitely assist in empowerment. As a woman who has gone through countless numbers of struggles, I really know what it feels like to utilize community resources to get ahead in life (i.e. going back to school, paying for school with financial aid). In doing so, I was able to identify and find my strengths and abilities. Once I was able to utilize them (no matter how great or small), I was then able to become a contributor for community resources (i.e. tutoring other women who went to school and working at a non-profit organization to empower women, children, and families). I am constantly looking and always trying. As I have been blessed to no longer live in poverty(i.e. below the federal poverty guidelines, or receiving food stamps or welfare), I try to help others along the way to find their strengths. 

MY PHILOSOPHY:   Empowered women have supportive relationships (i.e. mates, friends, children, etc.). Empowered women raise empowered and resilient children. Empowered women become resilient parents. Children of empowered women are not abused or neglected.  Empowered young women are the catalysts for future changes needed in our society. Empowered women have a voice to use to advocate for their and their families' well-being.  When communities invest in women' potential, natural talents are exposed, women thrive, women model the likeliness of stability for future women; and the continuous cycle of independence and interdependence becomes a balance for success for all women and their families.

"I WILL ALWAYS TRY BECAUSE IT IS MY RESPONSIBILITY TO USE MY POWER TO EMPOWER."