You may remember back in March we ran a special series of blog postings on our Soroptimist Commonwealth "Women as Agents of Change". It was recently bought to our attention that one of the nominations did not reach us here at SIHQ and so we would like to take the opportunity to share our final agent of change with you now. Many thanks to Dr Oluwakemi Linda Banks for her understanding.
Dr Banks’ life has been a
testament to the power of women to be agents of change: her very name –
Oluwakemi – symbolises blessings! Her great gifts
are humbly shared with people all over the world. For example she founded the Teacher Gloria
Omololu Institute in Anguilla, as a labour of love and at great personal sacrifice, to
transform education by providing high quality educational opportunities, especially the underprivileged. She named the institute
after her only sister, Teacher Gloria, who died at a young age and in so doing
immortalized her memory as an exceptional teacher. After 16 years the TGOI’s
holistic educational programme for students from Day care to Secondary has
earned a reputation for producing model citizens who excel in all areas of
their lives. UNESCO endorsed the Institute’s programme as its vision of
education for the 21st century, and published it in a book and on
its website as an educational innovation which teaches children how to live
together harmoniously.
Dr Banks
has been a role model and has inspired self confidence in the lives of Girl
Guides in her capacity as Commissioner of Guides in Anguilla and for the past five years as
Chairperson of the Caribbean Link of Guiding- the regional umbrella
organization for guide associations in twenty one Caribbean countries. As President of the
Caribbean Federation for Mental Health and Vice President of the Anguilla
Mental Health and Physical Disabilities Association she is endeavouring to
change the attitudes of people towards mental health, the mentally ill and the
disabled.
Dr Banks
is also the Caribbean representative on the ICFLC (International Committee of
the Fellowship of the Least Coin)an ecumenical
prayer organisation that was founded over fifty years ago in Asia, based
on a vision of global justice, peace and
reconciliation, to
raise funds which are used to make annual grants to groups around the world which
are involved in projects that improve the lives of women and families.
As a
media personality, cultural icon and motivational speaker Dr Banks organizes
and facilitates events, conferences and media programmes which touch the lives
of people of every walk of life.
The
daughter of a dynamic founding member of SI Anguilla, Dr Banks carries on the
legacy and shares her talents with the club as Extension
Officer.
She has
received many awards and honours, including the Pinnacle Award from the
National Coalition of Caribbean Associations in Washington DC and the Woman of the Year Award
in Anguilla in 1991.
As the
female President of the Caribbean Conference of Churches, the Caribbean
Executive Representative of the Latin American and Caribbean Religions for
Peace and Women’s Network, a founding member of the Anglican Church Women’s
Association and a licensed Anglican lay reader Dr Banks embraces spirituality
as she seeks to be a transformative agent for change in
this troubled world.
Dr Banks
knows that when we are courageous enough to try to make a difference, it makes
a difference! Indeed through her professional life’s commitment as a clinical
psychologist and an educator, as she reaches out
to her fellow human beings around the world and advocates for them, she is making a difference as an agent of change!