Rwanda Flag Raising Ceremony

WHY DO I EXIST ? -  KUKI NDIHO RWANDA ORPHANS SUPPORT PROJECT  

                                                   presents

RWANDA FLAG RAISING CEREMONY

            In Honor of the United Nation’s International Day for Peace and supporting Rwandan Orphans

  DATE   :   October 25th , 2012       TIME :  4:30  PM   

 Location: Newark City Hall Rotunda  ( 920 Broad Street . Newark , NJ 07102)

 

  Please Join

The  2010 Ambassador for Peace Award Winner  &  2012 Humanitarian Award Winner   Ms. Marie Claudine MUKAMABANO,A Rwandan genocide orphan survivor ‘s Initiative of Raising the Flag of Rwanda as a Symbole of:

     Healing, Peace, Resilience, Hope & Forgiveness 

 

GUEST OF HONOR &  SPEAKERS INCLUDE:                      

Honorable Mayor Cory Booker

Honorable Mayor Joseph Champagne, Jr.

Ms. Michelle Bachelet,CEO of UN Women Under United Nation’s Secretary- General

H.E.   Tete  Antonio  , Ambassador, Permanent Observer of African Union to the UN

 H.E. Dr. Josephine Ojiambo,UN Deputy Ambassador of Kenya 

Mr. Robert F. Van Lierop, Attorney at Law, McLaughlin& Stern,LLP

                          

THIS EVENT IS HOSTED BY :

Oumou Cherif -  Miss Guinea, Massachusetts ( 2011- 2012 )

Patience Noah  -  Miss Liberia, USA  ( 2012- 2013)

      M.C :  Wale Idris Ajibad – CEO of  African Views

Honorable Chair  Dosso Kassimu and Staff of The African Commission of Newark    in conjunction with  Marie  Claudine’s Charity – Why do I exist              

Special  event include:   Food & Drinks, music, African performing artist & Peace Poem BY Marie Claudine

Please contribute to our Peace, Sustainability, & Empowerment Initiatives for Rwandan orphans www.whydoiexist.org

TEL: 347 465 4045      E-MAIL: claudinepeace@gmail.com  talk to Marie Claudine

Looking Back

  This week I've spent a lot of time reflecting on my life. As I work towards graduation I am realizing how much I've grown over the years and how I have progress as a leader. Today one of my friends asked me to speak with his younger brother who is a freshman college and all I kept thinking was, how to you advice a college freshman. On my way to meet up with him all I kept envisioning was me as a freshman. See, when I started talking to him it was amazing how much he reminds me of myself as a freshman.
 
Right now he's 18 and on his own for the first time and coming from a strong family with two older brothers and an overly protective cousin all he wanted to do was get out of the house. I'm sure most of you reading this know what you were like as an 18 year old freshman in college surrounded by tons of girls, drugs and alcohol. Here is where things gets tough. As I sat there talking to him, he did have that blank stare like who is this girl. In my head I thought to myself, do I present myself as a senior who got to where she is by chance or do I present myself as someone who was once 18, who was once a freshman, who has once made mistakes and now understands that these are all part of human growth. Over the years I've attended many many leadership seminars and conferences that have prepared me for moments like this but I still wasn't sure what to say or how to start so I took the personal approach with him.
  
A long time ago I was told that the difference between a great leader and someone who is just a leader is personal experience. Now, am I saying I'm a great leader? no not yet,  but I am working on it! After laying the foundation I asked him how he feels about being in college and yes he is lost, and like any 18 year male he is trying to find himself. I asked him about the type of friends he has and all of them are of the same background as him. Bam! there it was. What my mentor tells me all the time. I can actually heart his voice ringing in my ears right now. ( Haitian accent) Patience if you want to be a great leader you have got to have a diverse and dynamic group of friends. Find people that are smarter than you because they will push you to challenge yourself. At the time which was 3yrs ago did I understand it, no not until a year ago it really started to sink in because I had to hear it over and over. Of course I told him the same thing. Now the question is will it be enforce? probably not till he's older because we humans do not like to step out of our comfort zone.

Like Dr. Steve White would say, did I make a difference not until you all have graduated and 10yrs from now you are CEOs and Executives. Now with this kid, did I make a difference? How do you measure success through advice? All you can do it hope that he will make the right decisions and even if he makes the wrongs it will lead him down the right path. To all of you College freshmen out there enjoy your freshman year and have fun but make sure you set your priority straight if you want to go to a party make sure your home work is done first. Surround yourself with the right people and don't be afraid to step out of your comfort zone. Be young but don't be a stupid young person. Once again enjoy college! your life has just begun and yes it will go by fast. But always know that whatever decisions you make now will affect the rest of your life.

In the words of Eleen Maxwell- My will shall shape the future, win or loose, only I hold the key to my destiny.

Library for Liberia

http://www.facebook.com/libraryforliberia

Young Liberian Summit

   This past weekend I was in Chicago for the Young Liberian Summit which I was honored to be a part of. As I sat there listening to the discussions and presentations it dawned on me how much I have been disconnected from my culture. Although many topics such as leadership ( my area), Education, Health and Technology were presented, my favorite topic presented was Culture. As a leader I believe being connected with one's culture is very important to self discovery. How can you lead people when you don't know who you are? My mom always told me Ma-Gueh in order for you to know where you're going always keep in mind where you come from. Where did I come from many of you may be asking. I was raised in the village of Nimba county in Liberia with no access to electricity, light, clean water whatsoever I have today. growing up we were in between Ivory Coast and Liberia because of the civil war Liberia was enduring during the 90s and early 2000s.
    Growing up like many Liberians we had to struggle for survival and hiding in the deepest parts of the forest to make sure the rebels did not get a hold of us. Being uprooted did not only pushed us back in terms of education but many of the children were forced to grow up as their families were murdered left with no one to look after them. I can not share everything that happened to me and my family on this blog but one question that one of the participants at the summit asked that I struggled with the most when I first came to the US and I believe most Liberian youth struggle with is how do we go from being the victim to being a survival? With our childhood being stripped away from us at the sound of AK47s how do you overcome that? How do you move past those horrible images of your family being killed in front of you. And if you were a child soldier how do you move past the killer mindset which was engraved in you at the age of 12 or even younger?. One way that can be done is by accepting that it was apart of your life. Accepting that all those events that happened in your past was not your fault and that you are not the one to blame. Be proud of who you have become because of your past and knowing that you have a bright future ahead of you. Also be proud of who you are not just as an individual but as a Liberian and let this pride show in everything thing you do.
   This summit was just what I needed at this stage in my life because it opened my eyes to see things in a new light and to be proud of my past, present and my future. If you were not able to attend this summer please make the effort to make it next summer as they come to Mass for the first time. It felt good hanging out with Young Liberians that were doctors, lawyers, scholars poets, public figures and many more. Next year I look forward to meeting more of you as we come together to help influence each other to not only make a difference in our lives but back home as well.