It was such a great honor to present this award to the Vice-President of The Gambia. She is the first female Vice-President in West Africa who has made great strides for the empowerment of women in The Gambia and abroad. A phenomenal and humble woman, she serves as a role model to so many, myself included. While working with the girls in our empowerment programs, the Vice President is always the first name mentioned when I ask girls to tell me about their role models and leaders. They describe her as hard working, humble, honest, kind, peaceful and educated. Their words only touch the surface of her character. When accepting the award she dedicated it to all the girls and women of The Gambia. She said she is fortunate to be one of the women who is seen working but there are so many women that work even harder than she does that go unseen. Women Empowering Nations is proud to have Vice-President and Minister of Women's Affairs Aja Dr Isatou Njie-Saidy as our 2010 Legacy of Empowerment Award recipient.Article featured in the Gambian Daily Observer National Newspaper:
Thursday, June 10, 2010
The vice president and minister of Women's Affairs, Aja Dr Isatou Njie-Saidy, was yesterday honored with the '2010 Legacy of Empowerment Award' by Carlisha Williams, the executive director of Women Empowering Nations, at a presentation ceremony held at her office at State House in Banjul.
This development is in recognition of her hard work, compassion and dedication to service. Speaking to reporters shortly after presenting the award to VP Njie-Saidy, Ms Williams who is also a goodwill ambassador for The Gambia said her organization is based in the United States and is an international non-governmental organization (NGO) which is committed to enhancing education through self-esteem development and empowerment. According to her, each year, they present 'The Legacy of Empowerment Award' to a woman who serves as a role model, leads by example and promotes the importance of education while impacting positively on the lives of girls and women around the world.
"Our NGO is working with girls and women here in The Gambia and we believe that the vice president is not only a shining example of everything our organization promotes, but also committed to the service and empowerment of women. In recognition of her dedication, we chose to honor her with this prestigious award," she stated.
