LEADER KAREEN — HAPPY BIRTHDAY
When you came to Benin, I was there,
Just a security guard, standing at my post.
People passed by and only saw my uniform,
But you stopped,
And you looked beyond the uniform.
<br />You never told me, “You are just a security guard.”
You never looked down on me.
In your eyes, I was not just a security guard.
You saw a person.
You saw something in me that maybe
I had not yet discovered myself.
<br />You gave me a chance,
You trusted me,
And little by little, I started to believe
That I could also go further.
<br />Leader Kareen, thank you…
For seeing beyond my uniform.
For believing in me when I was still finding my way.
From my security post
To becoming YVEI Country Coordinator in Benin,
My journey has changed,
And your belief in me is part of that journey.
<br />Since that day, something has changed in me.
I learn, I grow, I dream a little bigger.
You showed me that sometimes,
A person only needs a chance
And someone who believes in them.
Even today, I keep learning,
Learning to speak, to understand, to build and to move forward.
Maybe you do not always realize it,
But in your own way,
You have helped me change and grow.
<br />If today I am
AGONON Sèmanou Marcel,
Leader YVEI Benin,
It is not because I have reached the end of my journey.
It is because one day,
A woman named Kareen
Chose to look beyond a uniform.
She did not only see a security guard.
She saw a person.
She saw potential.
She saw someone who could grow.
And for that…
I will never forget you.
<br />So today, Leader Kareen,
I may not have a big gift to give you,
But I have these few words,
And they come honestly from my heart.
I wish you a life filled with happiness,
Peace, good health and many successes.
May all the dreams and projects in your heart
Grow and become successful.
May YVEI continue to grow,
May its vision touch even more lives,
And may your work, your dreams and your efforts
Continue to make a difference.
<br />And if one day you ask yourse
