Happy Mother’s Day: GC4W International Ultimate SuperMom Competition Winners

Happy Mother’s Day To All Mothers In The World. The Global Connections for Women Foundation is proud to announce the winners of the International “Ultimate Super Mom” Competition, a global contest designed to honor and celebrate a group of remarkable women, who continue to sacrifice and strive for the sake of their children and their communities. Nominees for the “Ultimate Super Mom Competition” were judged across a variety of key evaluation areas including overall community impact, specific contributions to the cause of women empowerment and go-forward plans for affecting change around and aiding the advancement of gender equality.

With selected honorees hailing from a cross-section of international communities including England, United Kingdom, Pakistan, India, and the United States of America. We are exceptionally pleased with the results and with our selected winners, CONGRATULATIONS TO ALL MOMS!

Congratulations to our 2016 Mother’s Day Winners:

Denise Ajayi Williams (California, USA) published the First African Action Hero Children’s Book Akiti the Hunter, a 5 part children’s series that captures the many adventures of an African descent hero. Denise is giving young children from the African race and beyond another hero that resembles heroes in their community. Her objective is to highlight the uniqueness of every race. Denise believes beauty can be expressed in different fashion. She celebrates diversity and welcomes any opportunity in doing so. She is launching 7 dolls from 7 countries. She is converting Akiti the Hunter into a children’s animation series. This series will introduce a hero to the American pop culture, that is long overdue and is authentic to it origination. As Akiti the Hunter is derived from African folklore. In addition to strengthening minority communities, Denise is a super mom because she has found the secret to work life balance. She understands the importance of family. She is a business owner, employee, wife, graduate student, author, writer, and most important a writer. She believes in the empowerment of not only her child, but the children in her community and beyond. Great examples of her super mom accomplishments include building a movement with Workingmomin20s.com, to feature and highlight unsung heroes of the world’s community.

Lois Moneke (Nnewi Anambra State, Nigeria) has helped to build a community Church by giving a lot of land to her community to build the church. She shared her agricultural seedlings with those who cannot afford to buy any. People that appreciate her in her community always come to seek advice because she always gives wise advice. She is a hardworking 73-year-old who was formerly a school village teacher but is now a farmer. She has impacted many lives in her community by growing crops for harvest and sharing with other women who have less. Mrs. Lois Moneke is a poor widow who manages to care for her seven children with little or no help. The community calls her “Mama Obioma,” meaning Mama Giveaway, even though she barely has enough extra in her life to give. Mrs. Lois Moneke’s contributions and to both members of her community and her family qualify her to be considered a super mom.

Cheryl Wood (Maryland, USA) has been committed to the empowerment of women and young girls for the past five years by consistently serving global communities of girls and women. Cheryl is a busy Mompreneur and a role-model to her three beautiful Children. As an author, she has given away hundreds of her motivational books to girls and women who are not in a position to purchase her books, so they too can receive the powerful content for moving their lives forward. In March 2012, Cheryl hosted a women’s conference and GIFTED 20 tickets to young girls in the community so they could be in the room and see what it was like to be around positive, empowered women. She gave each of the girls an award at the conference and celebrated their willingness to “show up.” Again, Cheryl was not looking to benefit personally from this event, she simply wanted to serve her community. Cheryl also hosts her own Women in Business Symposium, “Play Time is Over,” where over 120 Women are present and walked away empowered. Cheryl repeatedly volunteers her time to speak to youth groups and women’s groups to help them develop belief in their abilities to achieve their dreams and goals. For Women’s History Month, Cheryl has created a “Play Time Is Over Movement” for Women and Girls. Clearly, Cheryl has contributed to empowering women, in alignment with the ideals of GC4W.

Sumitra Aggarwal (West Bengal, India) believes in women empowerment and provides job opportunities to women who are having difficult lives because of being single. She funds poor female children’s education as much as possible. Also, she rehabilitates women with breast cancer who have undergone mastectomy and helps them to overcome mental trauma in order to resume social life as before. Dr. Sumitra Aggarwal started her company by the name of Artificial Eye Co where she makes custom made artificial eye, artificial ear, artificial nose, artificial finger and artificial breast for cancer patients. She is also Secretary of an NGO that distributes free medicines and books while also running free eye screening camps. Apart from taking care of her child and parents, she manages her home and runs her medical practise with utmost honesty and sincerity. Dr. Sumitra Aggarwal, a single parent, has a daughter, whom she helps get ready for to school and teaches for two hours each day as well as playing for one hour together daily. Dr. Sumitra Aggarwal is not only a super mom to her daughter, but a crucial part of her community.

Alice Aluoch (Delaware, United States) is a stay-at-home mom who spends her time managing a nonprofit in Kenya (Mfariji Africa) whose mission is to improve the lives of Kenyan girls by helping them to stay in school and complete their education through mentoring, menstrual health and hygiene training and provision of sanitary towels. 850,000 girls in Kenya miss school 5-6 days every month during their menstruation due to lack of sanitary towels. This puts the girls at a disadvantage in terms of equal learning hours with their male counterparts and strips away their self esteem due to lack of understanding of this natural process. Alice Aluoch raises funds to buy and distribute sanitary towels and inner wears to ensure that girls don’t miss school. Her volunteer team in Kenya educates girls on menstruation and mentors them. Alice has been on the frontline in campaigning for education, which resulted in her appointment as a Global Youth Ambassador for A World at School in Kenya, an organization that is working educate every child. She is also a recipient of a three-year fellowship from the Vital Voices (Washington DC), which offers training and mentorship to women who are pioneering change for women and girls in communities and countries across the globe.

Najam Us Sehar (Islamabad, Pakistan) has done a marvelous job by raising her four girls to be sensible, well educated, confident human beings without the help of any other as a single parent. She is a role model for everyone. Her mother raised her and her siblings as a single parent with no regular source of income. She is an example for anyone who may think they cannot survive without their husband. She sewed clothes day and night to earn her living to raise her children, to educate them and to help them marry. Her daughters are proud of their super mom since what they have become today is only because of her.

Lucinda Cross (New York, United States) frequently hosts free events for women and young teens for personal development and puts together forums for women to share their stories. She speaks in schools and can be often found working with the Boys and Girls Club or hosting a fundraiser. She has inspired many other women to start their own businesses. She is a public figure that shows the behind the scenes grind as a mom, wife and entrepreneur and she provides tips on how to balance it all. Lucinda is humble and is down to earth, providing resources and opening up her doors for other women to grow. Notably, she has a movement called Activate in which she assists women in building their business and focusing on their families. Lucinda is a super mom of four children.

Nicole Smith (Columbia, Maryland) serves on various committees and organizations in her county and surrounding cities, helping facilitate marketing services for nonprofit organizations, working with vendors, and connecting them with the events for nonprofit organizations to raise money and awareness about the needs of the community. She always shows others how to get out in the community and serve in different organizations and different activities. Having a son with certain disciplinary issues, she is able to work past some of those issues with him to help him become a better young man and hopefully a better adult when he reaches adulthood. Nicole is an outgoing mom who always tries to provide her son with different cultural events to attend so he can have a greater understanding of people and places that are unfamiliar to him. Nicole is always giving back to the community and recent entrepreneurs with her own daycare providing great childcare services, making her a super mom in both her family and community.

Patricia Minium Moonis (Virginia, United States) is a role model, not just to her children, not just to our community, but to the world. Her blog and her life already inspire hundreds of women every day. She has overcome so much in her life and maintains such hope and strength that everyone who meets her admires and wants to honor her. Those who have lost a spouse, those who have a child with learning disabilities, those who are struggling financially, those who have children to raise, those with sick parents, those who have been adopted can all relate to her story. In the world today, people need someone like Patricia to look up to, to inspire them, to give them hope. She continues to try to volunteer at church and at her children’s’ schools. She cares for her seven children and does anything she can to help others in need. In true Super Mom fashion, she puts everyone else before herself.

Tricia Baker (New Jersey, USA) is breaking ground bringing youth mental health awareness to the forefront. The thought of losing a child is devastating, yet she has taken that pain and used it to bring awareness so that others do not have to go through what she has gone through. Tricia lost her son Kenny who struggled with depression and anxiety. She is diving into an area of advocacy that many do not have the courage to speak about. There is still a significant stigma regarding mental illness and Tricia is looking to reverse that. Tricia and her family founded Attitudes in Reverse (AIR) in Kenny’s honor. Tricia also does not receive a salary for her work with AIR. In addition to working, Tricia often attends many school presentations, requiring traveling, waking up early, and organizing volunteers. She has worked tirelessly to bring awareness to teen mental health disorders and the need for awareness and acceptance. There has been over 20,000 “Coming Up for AIR” presentations that discuss signs and symptoms, why it is important to seek help. In addition to founding AIR, Tricia and her family also founded the Paws for AIR program that matches dog, often rescues who are trained to be service dogs with individuals. In addition, a traveling exhibit was created “In Their Shoes” that represents individuals who have lost their life between 2010-2012. Tricia does all of this full time, while balancing family time and a job as a dog trainer. For more information about AIR can be found at attitudesinreverse.org.

Jennifer Cantrell (Michigan, USA) provides support to families that go through the hardest moments of their lives. For many years she was a single mom of 3 after separating from her abusive husband at the time and she showed that it is possible to raise children as a single mom and do what is best for your children. Two years ago she became a certified bereavement doula and more recently, a midwife of thanatology. She helps and supports families in the Muskegon, Michigan area who are going through perinatal loss of any sort, such as miscarriage, stillborn, or fatal diagnosis. She provides each family with in person support either bedside at the hospital or at home. Jennifer provides her local area hospitals with blankets, hats, burial gowns, small items, sibling bags and things that will help create memories for each family at the time when hello is shortly followed by goodbye. She is available to families 24/7 for in person or phone support as needed. In addition to her local work, Jennifer runs and maintains a variety of support groups online for both loss moms and military spouses.

Anna Maria Brzezowska (London, England) helps anyone in need. If something’s wrong at work, she automatically calls and arranges anything; she picks up litter even when she doesn’t have time; she has helped over one million people with their bank accounts, shopping, and even furniture moving. Anna never says no. Once, her daughter was scared while learning a subject at school, but super mom Anna stepped in and explained everything to her daughter and friends. She is a role model because she learns from her mistakes. She works 10 hours a day sometimes even more to provide money for her family. When one of Anna’s friends became really sick and went to hospital, the children of Anna’s friend were meant to go to childcare but Anna stepped in and used nearly all her money to look after those children as well as her own for over 3 months. Clearly, Anna is super mom material.

Angela Bogan (Georgia, USA) always volunteers at different community events. She is very active in her church and she never wants the recognition she simply wants to help others. She never gave up through every adversity she faced – she kept her faith and pushed forward. Her compassion and love for others is the perfect demonstration of what it means to love thy neighbor. Her daughter has witnessed her mother perform CPR on a man that passed out in the grocery store. Angela is a nurse and she wears it as a badge of honor that she is always on call. She loves helping others and has volunteered at many community events that provided free healthcare for those in need.

Abi Foy (Georgia, USA) organized a summer feeding program, allowing the children on her property to have enrichment workshops while their parents were at work. She supports residents who lose employment by finding job fairs, openings and providing a resume workshop. Recently, she has been involved in community work with her company at Atlanta Mission, My Sister’s House, a women and children’s shelter. In the coming months, she will be raising money by doing a sponsored walk to raise money for Breast Cancer. Education is a high priority and while running around performing tasks for her family, Abi always makes sure that her girls are having a learning experience, whether spelling in the car or singing in the bath. Having a voice within her community has meant that Abi has been able to make the residents aware of the GC4W Working Mom Business Expo, as she encouraged others to participate. Abi recognizes that it is not only her personal growth that matters, but also that of the women around her. Being a Community Engagement Coordinator for an Atlanta Community, her main focus is engaging the residents with resources and programs to enrich the quality of their life. Abi’s job often requires long hours that can take away from her children. Despite how demanding her job is, she always makes quality time for her little girls and strongly encourages the importance of education.