🌟 The Importance of a Reference
- vanessamacamo
- Sep 10
- 1 min read
Updated: Sep 13
Every child needs a reference.
A light to guide them.
A voice to encourage them.
A hand to lift them when they fall.
For me, that reference was my father.
👨👧 He walked beside me to school.
He sat in my meetings.
He introduced me to sports and whispered in my heart that I was capable.
In Mozambique, where many still believe that women’s role is only to serve, my father stood against the current. He refused to limit me. He gave me space to dream, to speak, to believe, to become.
Sometimes his words carried the old ways, but his actions carried the truth: that I was worthy, that I had a place, that I could be more.
And today, I am here because I had a reference, because I had him.
🌱 To every parent, to every community, I say this: give your children a reference. Be the one who shows them that their lives matter, that their voices count, that their dreams belong to them.
Because a reference is not just a guide, it is the seed of confidence, the root of resilience, and the reason tomorrow will be brighter.
