Mama Zimbi Wins Feminine Personality Award

Akumaa Mama Zimbi

Ace actress, broadcaster and multiple international award winner Akumaa Mama Zimbi, real name Joyce Akumaa Dongotey-Padi, has added another laurel to the numerous she has received in the past few years.

The cultural icon, who is gradually stepping into other parts of Africa, has received the 'Prestigious Feminine Personality Award 2012' for her feminine leadership in the media in Ghana.

It is also for her leadership in the empowerment of women and girls through her Mama Zimbi Foundation (MZF). This award was given to her by the Leadership Empowerment Consult at the University of Cape Coast.

In the citation, it was stated that the award was being given to her as a celebration of her persistence from humble beginnings, her dedication, ingenuity and commitment that unveiled her as an epitome of exceptional female leadership.

The citation added that her strong interpersonal skills and unparallel abilities have made her a role model to the many young African women who pursue the field of excellence.

All these attributes have made her a cultural icon and a titanic symbol of what the African woman can achieve.

On receiving this prestigious award, Mama Zimbi asked the students, especially the ladies, to face life with devotion, dedication, determination and discipline, and achieve more than what she had been able to achieve in her personal and professional life.

She also took the opportunity to disclose that the Widows Alliance Network (WANE) project for sustainable economic development of widows in Ghana, which is one of the projects undertaken by the Mama Zimbi Foundation (MZF), will hold its 4th national Widows Alliance Conference (WAC) on Saturday, June 23, 2012 at the International Trade Fair Centre, La, with the theme 'Widowhood Is Not A Curse, But Ordained By God'. This conference is also to celebrate the United Nations International Widows Day.

Through WANE, over 300 widow groupings have been formed in Ghana, with membership swelling to over 6,000 nationwide. The annual national Widows Alliance Conference for advocacy and national widows cohesion is organized on a large scale as the grand occasion where all of Ghana and Africa are made to appreciate the roles widows are playing as ambassadors of change in their communities. It also serves as the ideal dialogue platform for the advocacy of a comprehensive policy and legal direction for elevating the standards of widows in Ghana.