Annual Thanksgiving & Reception Address - 2023
SJSSAA Mid-Atlantic Chapter Annual Thanksgiving & Reception May 7, 2023 Address of President
Good afternoon Father Canice, distinguished guests, patrons and our amazing Mid-Atlantic Members. I was on this podium around this same time last year
At the time I recounted how I wrestled with the decision to step into this role, since this was not even on my top 50 list and being the planner that I am, I was worried about the detour it will create in my well laid life’s trajectory. In looking back, I have no regret in accepting such a high honor by my own peers. It means a lot that you all saw me fit to be the leader at such unprecedented times – we continue to navigate through uncharted waters - it is still very choppy but even with all the challenges, I stand here proud and humble to be called the president of SJSSAA Mid-Atlantic. I hope I have lived up to your high expectations and delivered results at lightning speed. It has truly been an honor and some pain and tears running this course but if given the same opportunity in my next life, I will do it again for love of country and school. I feel blessed to have been on this journey with some of the most amazing ladies and the best Vice President and partner anyone could have prayed for – VEEP, it truly has been a joy working daily with you.
So…some may ask – what have you accomplished? What are you most proud of? The legacy I always want to live behind is one of peace, love and unity. So let me tell you what Mid-Atlantic has accomplished under my tenure in the last 17 months. An organization restored; positively growing daily which says a lot about our outreach and our record. We are not just growing in numbers – 2 we are growing in love; we have a strong bond amongst our members; a sisterhood, a place where you can count on other sisters being there for you. I know that the forum can be quiet at times but sisters know how to find other sisters in their time of need; someone to talk to when they are in a dark place, someone to pray with or give advice, someone to laugh with and sometimes someone to cry with as we just experienced 2 days ago when we suddenly lost one of our sisters Matilda Sheriff. If you are not using any of these resources, then you need to start because I have enjoyed all of that and you all have a right to that free therapy. Now, obviously we are in the fundraising business so I am sure you want to know where all the funds we raised have gone…well not towards my therapy because laughter is free. Last year, I talked about the ongoing school building project which was started before my tenure as a result of classroom congestion and overcrowding therefore a new building was the only sensible solution. It is now officially open and that state of the art building cost about 240K. Out of that, 64K was donated from this chapter.
The rest of the funds came from our other sister chapters in the UK, Atlanta, CA, TX and Freetown. That my dear friends is the power of working together and members and friends like you giving unconditionally. We Thank you. Now, we have a brand new building so it is time to focus on nurturing our girls so that they can become better leaders of tomorrow. With that in mind, we launched the Dillsworth Empowerment Foundation “DEF.” The 3 first goal of DEF is to issue criteria based scholarships to eligible students based on needs and merits. DEF also has a mentoring and empowering components. The DEF committee members will be working directly with the team in Freetown to ensure that the girls who qualify for these grants fall within the recommended criteria. We also plan on an ongoing oneon-one direct mentorship with the girls. It is very fulfilling to mentor those that look up to us and it is our hope and prayer that once this program gets into full action, we will begin to see positive impact on the overall results and an improvement from our girls’ performances in the WASCE and BECCE results. We are prepared to take this a step further and even give financial assistance towards additional tutoring if that is what it takes. To keep to our promise and to make sure that we get the ball rolling, last week we transmitted $20,000 to the Freetown Chapter, to be held in the scholarship fund. I also recently launched the DEF pledge drive after I learned earlier this year during a conversation with the Freetown chapter president that for only $300, you can support a student at SJSS. That is less than a dollar a day and it will get her books, uniform, book bag, lunch and transportation for the entire year. So far, we have about 10 members that have pledged to support a young girl; will you? Please check our website for more details.
We are simply trying to restore our alma mater back to its high standards. If you recall last year’s theme was about restoration and my parting words as I stood right here was a plea for unity because no restoration can occur without unity. We were very intentional with our theme for this year: “Commit your works to the Lord and your plans will be established. So let us break down the strategy: we want to be restored and we know that for that to happen we must commit our work to the Lord. However, none of this will be possible without unity. Unity is key in every home, relationship, workspace or any type of project. Infact, any assignment that involves two or more people will fail if there is discord with the parties. In order to win, we must commit to be united – one mission. No unified group loses – never (check the statistics). I learnt this a very long time ago. As a little girl, my late brother Henneh (may his soul RIP – he drowned at the age of 27) will sit on our veranda and just make observations of nature. We soon realized that ants were a powerful, unified bunch. If there was crumb on the floor, they will find a way to get it to their home. We were intrigued by their movement so we would create situations. Henneh will get a crumb and add some cordial vimto on it to entice the ants. They love sugar. One ant will come, notice the crumb, go back, give them a few minutes and soon the entire organization of ants will march in a single line, straight for the food. In minutes, the crumb will no longer be visible – it will be covered by ants and they will move that entire crumb safely to their hiding place. As I am Looking back now at how those ants marched in unison to gather their food – it finally dawned on me. They have an incredible sense of discipline and unity. They march at a consistent speed towards a common goal. No one tries to take a different path even though there were shorter routes – back then I thought they were not that smart but as I prepared my address for you this morning and started thinking of the solidarity of ants, I now realize that they were only following protocol, respecting leadership and staying united. I am not going to lie – I am kinda jealous of how ants operate. They are symbols of cooperation, carefulness, communication, responsibility, and trustworthiness. I never respected those things but I feel like I owe every ant an apology. They are so organized and powerful, there is even a bible verse about them. In Proverbs 6:6-8 ... Go to the ant, O sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise. ... As part of a team it is important to work together. No family or organization can thrive without one-ness so for us to be a successful team, we must move in solidarity, with one accord and in unison like the ants so when others see us and how cohesive we are, they will covet what we have. Let us respect each other so that we can successfully collaborate on projects and be able to achieve our goals and meet our mission. Let us be so strong in unity so that no matter what our house will remain untouched and nothing or no one from the outside will be able to even poke a hole in our walls built of love and unity.
Yes, we can disagree – because we are all different, but division should never be an option! Let us march like ants, proudly, showing unity in all we do. WE are ONE and there is only one SJSSAA MID-ATLANTIC and its members are in this consecrated building right now. To all our amazing and loving family and friends who have been with us every step of the way, we hope you will continue to support us. From my heart, I thank you all deeply on behalf of my entire team and the resilient MidAtlantic for all your love and support. As we leave God’s house today, please pray for us as we pray for you. You are all a blessing to this organization and we are eternally grateful.
Please join us as we peacefully chant ESTO FIDELIS.
