Reflections on International Women's Day

Maybe it was a by-product of growing up in a single parent home, but I identify power, courage and resiliency with being a woman. As a little girl, I remember thinking that nothing was impossible for my mom. She exuded independence, strength, and determination. Regardless of the meager means by which we lived on, she still made us feel loved.

As I carry that prototype of a woman with me when I travel, I see pieces of my mom in the women I met over in Africa. Often left to raise their children alone, they make do with the resources they have before them. It is the combination of their strength to carry the burden of the family, their mindset of survival, and their ability to somehow remain compassionate and nurturing that leads me to conclude that these remarkable qualities of a woman are universal.