To all of them, in the month of March dedicated to women, a Saturday of celebrations was offered. The day began with Mass, followed by a conference-debate held by Mme Marie Claire, a woman entrepreneur, responsible for a carpentry workshop, and finally some cultural events and a festive lunch.
For the students of the "Tuwe Wafundi", the intervention of Marie Claire was enlightening. “With her personal experiences, she told us that to live and be a female leader, we need to have some principles, some rules that we give ourselves,” testified the young Irène Nabintu, an apprentice in Automotive Mechanics. They are:
- Avoid living always expecting help from others;
- Equality requires us to work hard and show that we can do it even by ourselves, alone, if we really want to;
- Love your work, your profession: if someone really loves her vocation, her work, she will be successful, even against a headwind;
- Pray to God, because it is He who comforts and gives you confidence during the journey of work;
- Do everything on schedule and don't envy what you don't have.”
Marie Claire, married, mother of 9 children, all raised and educated thanks to her work, also encouraged the young women present to continue their education, because, “to qualify as boys do, intelligence and strength are needed, and to work with courage. Without disrespecting men, you can make yourself accepted as a true female leader,” she said.
In the subsequent question and answer session, the values of honesty, which always pays off in the world of work, and of patience, were highlighted because “one becomes a female leader little by little”, step by step. And to those girls who would like to work but whose boyfriends are against this option, the speaker said clearly: “If someone loves a person, he will also love everything that she is, lives and does.”
“Until a few months ago, the girls of the Tuwe Wafundi school were on the street, without a diploma, without a job, without a future. 'Don Bosco' offers them the possibility of finding a place in society, and - why not? - to one day become true women leaders,” commented Fr Piero Gavioli, Director of the Salesian house in Bukavu.