Celeberating Women's Month with Inspirational Women - Lemuelle Baya

Hey it's March! This is the month in which we celebrate women. Below are some amazing ladies that have contributed to the person I am today. Most of them are friends and colleagues. I acknowledge them for being great role models to me and to others. In this article they share with you.

1. What has been their driving force?
2. How they handle challenges?
3. What lessons experience has taught them as Aspiring Ladies?

Coming up with this article was not as easy as I had expected. I had to bug some of these ladies for days in order to get their responses to the questions listed above. I would say it was worth the bugging and the pestering because the result is empowering. I hope you take out something inspiring after reading about them.

Meet Marion Kefie A business Analyst and a Quality assurance personnel for Panus Software - a tech company in Buea, Cameroon. She began her Tech Career with absolutely no background in Technology. She has grown over the years and is now a top notch Business Analyst. She continues to learn while on the field. She is passionate about her career and works relentlessly to deliver her best to the community. As we celebrate women's month we celebrate Marion for the contribution she is making to the tech industry and for proving to us that we can be anything we want to be. Below are her responses to the questions I asked.

What has been Your Driving force?

My driving force has been to change my world.

How do you handle Challenges?

Challenges are part of the route to success and I can't say I haven't encountered any. In fact, I have encountered many challenges but I try to tackle them head on. Sometimes, when it is so hard, I encourage myself with words. Other times, I meditate so that I can get calm because it is only in stillness that I can get the insight to tackle a challenge. I believe that, after every challenging situation I face, I increase in strength. This sometimes keeps me focused and determined knowing that at the end, I will increase.

What lessons have experienced taught you as an Aspiring Lady?

The journey to success is not as smooth as I thought when I was a child. Experience has taught me that if I don't fight, my dreams will end up in the grave. And that to change my world, I must change something I do daily.

Meet Efuet Flora a network engineer, co founder and Chief Financial Officer of ICLAN (Innovative Clan)- a tech start up in Douala, Cameroon. Flora is determined to see her self on top of the success ladder and encourages her peers to do the same. She always leaves me thinking of the next big step for my life/career after a simple chat with her. As we celebrate women's month, we celebrate Flora for being a role model to her family and friends and for her contributions to the tech industry. Below are her responses to the questions I asked.

What has been Your Driving force?

I believe that everybody has the potential to achieve whatever he/she wants If they set their mind to it. I know where I want to be, and even if I’m not there yet, I keep striving to get there because I believe I have not yet exploited 10% of my potential. Meaning I know I have the potential do certain things that I don’t even know I can do. Hahahaha. I Know it sounds crazy. Another driving force for me has been to attain financial independence. I noticed from experience and research that one of the major problems in marriages is money and in most cases, this results from the fact that the woman doesn’t work and depends entirely on the husband for every franc. This is a problem I think I can avoid in my future home If I am financially independent.

How do you handle Challenges?

Communication with God: At times, my mind will try to trick me to believe that I cannot do certain things or that I should give up. In such times I turn to my father and channel all my worries to him and sometimes I feel relieved after reading the bible.
Self-Affirmations: Most at times when my confidence level Is very low, I tell myself in a loud voice that “I am smart”, “I am Intelligent”, “I am beautiful”, “I can do it”. One other thing I do to boost my confidence level is to watch and listen to motivational speakers, somehow it increases my confidence and makes me believe I can handle the situation

What lessons have experienced taught you as an Aspiring Lady?

Striking an equilibrium between your career, relationship, family, marriage and friends: Being a female leader can be a very difficult task especially if you are a mother, wife, leader, daughter, sister… at the same time. It takes a lot of wisdom to be able to strike a balance between these roles. Over the years I have learnt that your choice of partner plays a very important role in your career as your partner can either take your career to greater heights or crush it. So having the right partner is very crucial and there might be situations where you will have to choose between your career and family (Family here can be marriage, relationship). Here the kind of choice you make will depend on the situation you find yourself in and what you really want (By what you want I mean your goals and aspirations in life). In the ideal situation, your family should be your priority.
Challenges make us Stronger: Challenges are most often unpredictable and we often wish we didn’t have to face those challenges, But I have learnt that the challenges we face make us stronger and give us the ability to be able to withstand tougher situations.
Our mistakes upgrade us to a better version of ourselves: One of the things that makes us humans is our ability to make mistakes, we are not God who is perfect and hence we are bound to make mistakes. God wired us to learn from our mistakes and when most people make mistakes by taking decisions or doing things they regret, they spend their time wallowing, wishing the deed was never done.  I have learnt that the mistakes we make are good for us, I have learnt to embrace my mistakes because they bring out a better version of me and when I make a mistake, I do an analysis of what I did wrong, think of a better way I should have handled the situation and then come up with a lesson from the mistake with the hope of applying the lesson learnt from an old situation in a future circumstance.

Meet Amanda Shafack, she is a software engineer,  co founder of ICLAN (Innovative Clan), a certified Android Developer and the Lead for Women Tech Makers Buea community. She encourages and impacts ladies in her community to take advantage of opportunities that will improve their skills. She organizes events and workshops to equip the community with new technologies. She believes in hard work, dedication and commitment and leads by example.  As we celebrate women's month, we celebrate Amanda for her numerous contributions to the community and for being a role model. Below are her responses to the questions I asked.

What has been Your Driving force?

My driving force has been the female tech community I lead. I don't want to let the women who look up to me down and I want them to understand that they can achieve anything they set their minds to. Consequently I go the extra mile to provide technical resources so as to make the community thrive. Through this I become a better version of myself and always seek to be better each day so as to set a good example for others to follow.

How do you handle Challenges?

When I experience challenges, I become really emotional sometimes. As humans we can't avoid feeling the depression this comes along with. However, after releasing my emotions, I seek ways to overcome them. I always tell myself "This too shall pass" and "I must make this work".

What lessons have experienced taught you as an Aspiring Lady?

From my experiences I've gathered that to be genuinely successful in your quests, you need to be positively aggressive about the things you want to achieve. You also need to be resilient, consistent and put in the work. You know "You are what you do and not what you say you'll do".

Also, you need to understand that failure is part of the growth process. You can't avoid it and you need to learn from it.

Meet Mercy Fominyen a lady driven by purpose and passion. She is a student studying Business Administration and Founder of The Real Woman-Purpose Driven initiative. She believes that a real woman is one who is Modest, virtuous and  who loves God. She wants to see a world where women are respected not because of statues alone but because of their integrity. As we celebrate women's month, we celebrate Mercy for her relentless effort in teaching us to become Real Women. Below are her responses to the questions I asked.

What has been Your Driving force?

My number one driving force in life is my desire to see a better version of myself and other women around me. I do not just want to live because its life, I want to live because I want to make meaning out of life , I want to make a difference.

How do you handle Challenges?

It hasn't been easy and for sure it wont be easy but I trust the hand of God. There are moments I have felt like giving up especially in those moments when I look around me and it feels like there is nothing and there is no one. But what keeps me going is the fact that I know I can't be a failure, my desire to become better, my desire to get out of the usual, and my desire to shape lives throw my life. What plays at the back of my mind is "you are a winner, you cant give up, trust the process, learn the lessons and forget the pain"...through every difficult moment

What lessons have experienced taught you as an Aspiring Lady?

I have learnt a lot that I can't pen them down but if there are things that are my watch words, they are; life is a product of our thoughts; our inward state governs our outward events; life gives to us what we give it; I have learnt to watchful of my words cause our lives are a manifestation of our words too.

Meet Margaret Mary, a Network engineer and a certified digital Marketer. While pursuing her career she manages her brand "Beautimor" where She produces and sells good wigs and hair extensions. Margaret is a goal getter and she believes that she can achieve anything as long as she sets her mind to it. She is always looking for the least opportunity to upgrade herself in preparation for opportunities that may present themselves. As we celebrate women's month, we celebrate Margaret for her fighting spirit and for making us realize that women in Tech can thrive in business too. Below are her responses to the questions I asked.

What has been Your Driving force?

When I look around me and see how some women are successful in Life, I see how they put in their all to have a legacy, I see the influence the impact in their areas, I see how passionate they are, I look at myself often and I ask myself, are these women super beings, were they created differently from me? I have my own passion so why can't I use it to leave a legacy? Above all, I have often wanted to live a better life, where I can afford my bills from my hard earned money, help others, be a model to my family and others, and to become an influential woman. How can I be all these if I don't work very hard? Note: Predetermine your future, and you will work very hard to get there.

How do you handle Challenges?

Challenges will always come. Infact the challenges give you strength and make you know that you are on the right path. Even though some challenges may weigh you down to the point where you may want to give up, But don't. The power of positivity is something every one should possess. Even when you fail, give a positive attitude towards it. My dad's quote - "Never let the fear of failure prevent you from doing what is good." As far as you know what you are doing is right, keep on trying until you are there.

What lessons have experienced taught you as an Aspiring Lady?

Never see yourself as not good enough. Everyone has a unique identity and purpose. Meaning you must be the best at doing certain things. But the problem is what is that thing? Find your purpose, it will make you and the people around you happy.

Keep trying everyday, Never give up, Set goals to achieve for the future, Love who you are, See the good side of every person,

Amongst all, Love God and Pray.



Do you know what drives you? How do you handle challenges? Are you learning from your experiences? Pause and think about these for a moment. I also urge you to surround your self with people who inspire you to think and grow. If you are a lady and you are reading this, I encourage you to keep keeping on as you break through the myths associated with being a woman in tech. You are worth more than the society has defined you to be. You are above every limitation tied around the journey to success.
Cheers to you all... Happy women's month.