My Journey to the Top
I have a foundation, and at first I thought I would help kids with cancer and other disabilities. But soon it was clear to me that education was the only thing that would make a real change. So many kids in Mexico don't go to school. I decided to concentrate 100 percent on education with a school. It's 230 kids from first grade to sixth grade. We give them breakfast in the morning and then they go to class.
I think I play golf for a reason. It seems like the more I play, the more I can help. I love to give back. Seeing those kids happy at school makes me feel even better than winning a tournament.
Margaret Chan
Director-General, World Health Organization
I was very lucky to have liberal parents. They had moved from mainland China and settled in Hong Kong to run a small business. Times were tough in Hong Kong in the early '50s.
Both of them worked hard. They had some time for me, but they weren't watching me every minute. I was brought up not by nannies--because we were not rich--but by relatives who came from the mainland. But they made it very clear that they would do their best to provide the means for my education. They gave me space but also assurance.
I had a very happy childhood.
During high school the only thing I wanted to do was to become a teacher. I worked very hard towards that. When I graduated from teacher's college I was assigned to teach at junior-high-school level.
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Member Comments
Posted By: pinkiroy @ 10/19/2007 4:43:48 PM
Comment: Thanks a lot for the well elucidated artices,illustrating how women have come to the top. I am sure this will definately be an encouraging article which will go a long way in making we "women" realizt that we are indeed "Shakti"...meaning power...asis depicted by the great epics of Indian sprituality.
Posted By: leyla @ 10/18/2007 7:38:08 AM
Comment: Women from all over the world face same challenges. As long as we will not have a self -esteem problem
we can accomplish at least twice as men do. Be it politics, business or social domaines...Thank you
Newsweek for introducing new role models. Leyla Alaton G??nyeli from ??stanbul-Turkey.
Posted By: jayant @ 10/17/2007 1:41:59 AM
Comment: My million thanks to Newsweek magazine and the journalists who covered this story for putting Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh, Ms Mayawati among the top 8 women leaders in world. These laurels from a reputed magazine like Newsweek are rightly deserved by Mayawati. Such a highly valued recognition would have never come from the Indian media which is totally controlled by the forces of bramhnical social order. The Indian media is so utterly biased and partisan that it makes even an ordinary person from amongst the so called "upper caste" look like a big hero by repeatedly portraying him in media. On the other hand the big heroes from the Bahujan Samaj ( majority lower castes and converted minorities) who have made huge contributions in nation building are totally ignored by this same partisan Indiam media. Hats off to Newsweek !