When I became a mother, there were times when I felt I had to choose\u2014between continuing to fulfill my leadership roles or fulfilling my new role as a mother. My schedules overlapped, as did my responsibilities, and I felt frustrated by the desire to do both well while feeling that, perhaps, I couldn\u2019t. I felt like I wouldn\u2019t be able to handle everything at once.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I\u2019ve been engaged in leadership roles since I was 17. My work has focused on civic and social issues, the defense of human rights and women\u2019s rights, and peacebuilding. For years, being part of these efforts has been an important part of my life. But with motherhood came a question I had never had to face before: How could I continue to be a leader and, at the same time, be the mom I wanted to be?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
At first, it was very difficult. There was a moment when I even thought about stepping down from my leadership role to free up my time and be a \u201creally good mom.\u201d I thought I couldn\u2019t be both. Balancing those two roles has been a process. I had to realize that life didn\u2019t stop with motherhood. My daughter was going to grow up, and many of the struggles I\u2019d worked to address would still be there. So I also realized that continuing was about her and her future.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I want to leave her a legacy. I want my name to be associated with something important to my community, and I want my daughter to one day feel proud of what her mom helped build. Thinking about that became one of my driving forces to keep going.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The hardest part is still trying to do both things well: being a mom and being a leader. Not neglecting one to do the other. In that process, I\u2019ve come to understand something fundamental: I can\u2019t do it alone.<\/p>\n<\/div>
Today, my daughter is 18 months old. I work, study, and am writing my thesis to graduate with my second degree. I\u2019m also still deeply involved in leadership initiatives and currently serve as president of the Umoja Foundation, where we work to empower women and strengthen their role in peacebuilding. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
However, doing all of this doesn\u2019t mean I\u2019ve found a formula for achieving perfect balance. The hardest part is still trying to do both things well: being a mom and being a leader. Not neglecting one to do the other. Through this process, I\u2019ve come to understand something fundamental: I can\u2019t do it alone. Having a support network has been indispensable. There were times when I couldn\u2019t attend a meeting, and the people I worked with would come to my house. On other occasions, my family would take care of my daughter, allowing me to continue participating in leadership activities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Sometimes we stay silent because we believe we have to handle everything on our own. But we also have to learn to ask for help when we need it. Looking at the stories of other women leaders who have managed to keep going also helps. It reminds us that we\u2019re not alone and that motherhood doesn\u2019t have to mean giving up what we\u2019ve built\u2014what we\u2019ve worked so hard for over so many years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I want to continue being part of the leadership efforts in my region. I want to be a role model for other women and for my community. I want to contribute to building a better Choc\u00f3, where our actions foster peace and better coexistence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Becoming a mother transformed my life, but it didn\u2019t end my leadership. Now I also know for whom I want to keep building that path.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Cuando fui mam\u00e1, por momentos sent\u00ed que ten\u00eda que elegir. Elegir entre seguir cumpliendo con mis roles de liderazgo o cumplir con mi nuevo rol de madre. Los tiempos se cruzaban, las responsabilidades tambi\u00e9n y apareci\u00f3 la frustraci\u00f3n de querer hacer ambas cosas bien y sentir que, tal vez, no pod\u00eda. Sentir que no iba…<\/p>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1814,"template":"","class_list":["post-1813","altavoz","type-altavoz","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nextgenc.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/altavoz\/1813","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nextgenc.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/altavoz"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nextgenc.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/altavoz"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nextgenc.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/nextgenc.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/altavoz\/1813\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1816,"href":"https:\/\/nextgenc.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/altavoz\/1813\/revisions\/1816"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nextgenc.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1814"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nextgenc.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1813"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}