I was born the following year and my sister Kim is a year younger than me.Our father, who was also Guyanese, left the family when we were little. In 2010, when I led a choir of young black schoolgirls to victory in a national televised competition, Mum finally understood why it was my vocation and, for the first time, told me how proud she was of me.I’d always craved more affirmation from Mum, for her to articulate the pride I knew she felt inside, but it didn’t come easily to her. While I didn’t experience the same open hostilities she had, because society had changed, I knew I had to overcompensate.Mum didn’t want me to have a career in music; she wanted me to become a lawyer and Kim a doctor. Watching me that day I hoped she felt she was reaping the rewards of all her hard work.Not long after I arrived in the UK, I looked for a church to worship in. Get involved! In front of me stood my choir, behind me the newly married Duke and Duchess of Sussex. This is what saved...Magical, mind-blowing and better than sex? Please don’t come back.’I felt so rejected, especially as it happened in a place where I should have found refuge and acceptance. I didn’t believe there was money or security in music. Sometimes it was obvious hostility, often it was insidious. I watched Karen perform at the royal wedding alone at home. I was brought up in Guyana by my mother and my aunt, I was an only child and my father died when I was 16. My eldest sister was a single mother, so in our family, we never had a problem with single mothers,” explains the 35-year-old nurse. But I am so proud of Karen and Kim, who is also a choir conductor. This group is for daughters of single mothers and mothers and sisiters and lovers and husbands and brothers of single mothers and anyone who wants to know where her strength and values come from.Magnesium Deficiency: A Commonly Overlooked Health Issue All content is Copyright © 2020 HER Inc. dba EmpowHER unless otherwise noted. She didn’t shield that truth from me and my sister. And being a He adds that, “I never saw anything wrong with it. Time and time again as I grew up, Mum would tell me that as a black woman I had to work harder, achieve more, be better – because the colour of my skin meant the cards were stacked against me. But for choir conductor Karen Gibson her happiest achievement is the pride of her mother Nathalie  Choir conductor and workshop leader Karen Gibson, 56, lives in Southwest LondonSequins, songs, kids... dance! Motherful stands with Black mothers, grandmothers, aunts, daughters, sisters, and families protesting and mourning the life of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and so many others. Her generation of women possessed a resilience and courage you don’t often find now. They taught me how to be a strong woman, like them.Leaving Guyana when I was 25 was a very difficult decision because I already had three children there, two sons and a daughter – Karen’s elder half-siblings. As I waited for the first bars of music to play, with the chapel quiet, it was my mum my thoughts turned to.I could picture her so clearly in my mind, at home in Southwest London, chair pulled up close to the TV, absorbing every second of this amazing moment in my life.Mum arrived in the UK from Guyana in 1962 – she was part of the Windrush generation who came after the Second World War. Even though she left this world 15 years ago, her strength and wisdom guides my every move. But it was always there. This year's...Elizabeth Day: Remember what happens when you assume…The Kingdom Choir’s single ‘Real Love’, in aid of the charity Refuge, is out now I was so tiny the doctor told her to put me in a corner and let me die. The views expressed in the contents above are those of our users and do not necessarily reflect the views of MailOnline. I love to hear Karen sing – she sings with her whole body and her heart and has inspired so many people with her voice and her energy.I’ve spent a lifetime holding back my emotions. My life hasn’t been easy and I am afraid of being too happy in case everything goes wrong. I wanted the familiarity of going to a service and to pray for help and guidance as I started my new life. And I knew that, in her own way, there would be nobody prouder than Mum.All my life she has supported and pushed me to make the very best of myself. Yet, ironically, it was Mum who first fostered my passion for music and performing. Of course, she proved me wrong – what she has achieved is incredible. 705-252-5700 On Sunday, May 31, 2020, one of our co-founders made a public statement that does not reflect the values centered (see next section below) at Motherful. Leading the choir that day, I didn’t feel nervous, just happy and honoured to deliver this beautiful gift of music to Harry, Meghan and the world. When she wasn’t working, or sleeping in between shifts, she was in the kitchen cooking hot curries, or we were all at church, scrubbed clean, in our good ‘church clothes’ that weren’t allowed to be worn any other day of the week.Mum lived with racism every day; it was just part of the fabric of life for her. Mum worked three jobs to support us. We were both classically trained but church was where I fell in love with singing. We are no longer accepting comments on this article.Part of the Daily Mail, The Mail on Sunday & Metro Media GroupShe’s won countless awards and performed at the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s wedding. I wanted a good life and I worked very hard to provide that for Karen and Kim, as well as sending money home for my children in Guyana, who I visited regularly.It was important to me that Karen and Kim were well-dressed, studied hard and had luxuries like music lessons.