Ritah Nansereko

36, Humanitarian Worker

I never knew my father. He died before I was born in the conflict in Uganda.  When I was six years old, my mother realised she could not look after all seven of her children. She took me, the last born, to live with nuns, a family of women.

The nuns trained me to take care of people -poor people, the elderly and the vulnerable. This turned me into a strong woman with leadership skills. It shaped my upbringing and showed me that a woman can do it all in whatever circumstances.

I have been a humanitarian worker for seven years. I want to see a strong women’s movement that will mainstream gender issues into humanitarian responses.

The way I see the #IMatter campaign is as a reminder, a way to show people that women matter because we have always contributed. Our achievements are visible, so they must mind us. They have to give us the space, we have to be listened to.

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