HERJourney

Becky: I welcome you all to Her Journey and this is a production of Kairos Global Foundation. And KGF, as it is short, for Kairos is an organization, a non-profit committed to the empowerment of women in rural communities and allowing women to engage with their communities as change agents. Our hope, vision and dream are to bring women together across the world to support one another being a movement and raising the quality of life but also empowering women to impact their communities and bring change. So that is a little bit about KGF.  

This is our second Her Journey podcast. It’s exciting and our special guest with us this evening is Megan Miller. I’ve had the great opportunity to meet her in person when I visited the U.S last fall. She graciously agreed to be our guest and when I first met Megan and of course thanks to Mallory who introduced the two of us. I was just intrigued and impressed right away by the way her demeaner, the joy she exuded, but more the specialty of her education. She has a P.H.D. in global entrepreneurship and today our topic is to discuss women and global entrepreneurship. I thought who would be better than to invite Megan and so here you go… welcome Megan, it’s great to have you with us. I’m just going to put it out there, why did you choose to do global entrepreneurship?  

Megan: Well, what an introduction, thank you! So, I chose sort of an unconventional career choice. I started out in academics, and I really enjoyed learning about things I’m very interested in and so the further I went into academia, the more it became obvious that I wanted to study small businesses. One of the reasons why I wanted to do this is because of the unique ability they have in the role that they play on a really global scale. So, I wanted to explore more of what that was going to be like and that sort of lead me to global entrepreneurship. One thing that was really impactful for me was to understand how change is created and that is a key component that global entrepreneurs play really any entrepreneur plays and they create change, and they innovate. I’m going to take a moment that is essentially the role of the entrepreneur, so an entrepreneur creates economic value. It’s really different than other business forms in that it innovates and creates whereas other business types tend to either expand or maintain. In entrepreneurship an entrepreneurial business is going to be one that generates change. It generates innovation and that is key to any and all economic growth. It starts with the local level, and it goes up all the way globally. So, I just wanted to explore more of what that was going to be like, and I came to find out that I really enjoyed it. That is sort of how that happens the entrepreneurial person is always looking to solve a problem or meet a need or trying to reach a new market in a new way. At their core they are creative, they’re not happy with the status quo, they recognize something that others miss. Essentially, they are not afraid of change, they are not afraid of risk taking. They are going to create something of value. I wanted to know personally what makes some entrepreneurs successful and why some are not. So that is sort of how that happened.  

Becky: That is exciting and that is really where the global south is right now. There is a lot of push for entrepreneurship. India particularly I would say is providing all kinds of benefits through the government for young people. We have a very young population here in India and so whether it’s skills training, whether it’s capital or it’s other kinds of education that’s needed to nurture this spirit of entrepreneurship, the Indian government is doing it. What excites me particularly is how women are getting involved in this whole entrepreneurship era I would say in India. When KGF as all of us know works, in the rural areas not so much in the urban parts of the world but when we go into the rural areas, we find that women particularly are engaging in starting these micro businesses and these small businesses because they’re very intuitive, they’re observant and they want change. It is women particularly in these rural, backward, underprivileged communities that are suppressed that face all kinds of challenges and so it falls on their shoulders to seek a solution which makes them good subjects for entrepreneurship.  You know when we talk about women coming up and becoming entrepreneurs only 20% of the 63 million small businesses are owned by women, and this is India’s report. There’s a lot of disadvantages as well that women face because of lack of education lack of opportunity for skill training and so that they are not able to engage more. So, for KGF this is a major part of our focus. But Megan just going back to you I just want to ask what are the challenges as women get involved in as women are encouraged to get involved in entrepreneurship what challenges do you think they face in this field?

  
Megan: So it’s pretty incredible how even still today there is such a barrier to women doing business across the board and I think one of the main challenges that women face in general and in business is that they have to face a couple of things: the duality of the roles of working with the kids and the husband maintaining a family the work life balance and they if they are doing an entrepreneurial business they deal with all the pressures of creating something new and maintaining that something new surviving the creation process. That’s a difficult thing for women entrepreneurs to face. The other thing is just lack of resources, namely education, access to financial capital, access to physical capital. All capital resources, any resources you need to start a business to maintain it to establish it to grow it women still struggle with that quite a bit. Another thing that women often struggle with is their seen, for lack of better word, sort of a weaker element, we all know this to be true. In business, men and women have their strengths we process things differently we are two halves of the same whole—we were designed that way. So, we think about problems differently. We provide different types of solutions. We are sometimes not quite as analytical we’re more intuitive we’re emotive we do think with our emotions a little bit more and I think that is a great strength of women however, it has been labeled as a negative in a lot of aspects. That’s one thing that really drives me nuts personally it kills me because women you laugh you share joy you share happiness you share your truth your wisdom you share your lives and that is a huge connecting point with customers and other business owners with suppliers. It’s I think a great strength women have that we are emotional we understand most of the time we understand our emotions because we’ve had them our whole lives and we know how to use them. I think that’s a positive and a negative—the emotional component. Another thing I think women have a hard time with is confidence and that’s a huge one that you never really would think about but there are so many things stacked against a woman. If she were to take a step out on her own and create something new there’s such a huge risk of fear of failure and that can cause great depression it can cause fear it can cause tremendous anxiety, and women must deal with all of that. I think more so because it is not knowing they’re going to have the support that a man would. I think that there’s just that fear. Those are the main things I would say that women really do struggle with in more of an entrepreneurial context and that could be applied in any setting rural, global, local those are the things we face. What you’re talking about in India I mean all of that is exponential you know so your extreme lack of education financial support, support from your family your immediate core network a lot of times would be missing. Having to face the duality of maintaining the home and the business I mean that’s just the odds seem so stacked against a woman trying to do anything different. Trying to create change is extremely difficult, especially in cultures that are not conducive to that.  

Becky: That’s right I was just going to add that, Megan. Culture plays such a huge role particularly in the global south. I would say patriarchy particularly in India is very strong and so you know just the very fact of that social structure and social system women are suppressed and oppressed. But also going back to something that you mentioned how you know women tend to think differently and solve problems differently they tend to view things from a different perspective. I would say to put more meat into that they are more outward focused is what I have seen. Mahatma Ghandi said it this way he said if you educate a man, you educate an individual but if you educate a woman, you educated a family and probably an entire community because if a woman has a skill she’s working, or she becomes an entrepreneur and she gains a profit. And it’s always used—the excess income or the supplementary income is always used towards the education of her children or towards community building and so on and so forth. So, it is a very outward focused and a “us” versus “me and them” sort of a dynamic that I always see play out in the rural villages. In terms of building this network that’s really a big one where I see women struggling with particularly in the rural areas perhaps in the urban too I say I would struggle with that myself you know we have work we have family and we have very little time to actually go out and meet likeminded business women or other business networks to build up our knowledge and forte or strengthen ourselves that way. I jokingly shared this with the women as I train them in their villages you know men every day everyday men before they go to work or after they finish work, and they are returning home they will stop at the local tea shop. That’s kind of the big deal and they stop there and have their cup of chai tea and many of these men obviously in the rural areas cannot read or write they are illiterate. They pick one among them who would read the newspaper and it’s kind of this polity happening there they start talking and they’re sharing information. They start sharing opinions and ideas and they ask each other for help and that’s kind of their networking that they do. They say, “Where can I buy the best cow?” “Who are you going to vote for this election?” or “Who should we support?” So all of this conversation happens over this cup of tea and it’s a bunch of men from the village who stand there who visit the local tea shop every day and so they would come home and tell their women tell their wives or their mothers or their sisters and say this is who you should vote for because this is the decision we’ve made. Or even when we provide microloans to the women and they have to buy a sewing machine or a cow the man would be the one to come back with the information and say this would be the best cow or where we can buy the cow or this is the place where we can get the sewing machine and so on and often this brings out a sort of dynamic that the women don’t know anything and it’s the men who know everything. And I always keep teasing our women—I say, “Obviously we can’t go to the tea shop and sit there because we don’t have the time to do that but what we can do is come together in our WTG’s (Women’s Transformation Groups).” That’s kind of our tea shop where we sit down where we network with each other where we share ideas and opinions and kind of encourage one another and network with one another and build up our own businesses. So yeah, this whole idea of network building support building—it’s so critical to business development and for entrepreneurs and that’s one big area where I see women really being disadvantaged. Again, I would say that education plays a huge role in this and many of the women of course do not have the opportunity for good, solid, quality education that prevents them from getting into these businesses. You know as I think about entrepreneurship, and I think about how women are taking advantage of this and how women despite the challenges despite the boundaries they are turning it into learning goals and setting up their businesses. I am really encouraged by you knowing the work that we do at KGF. We provide as I just mentioned microloans to these women—it’s a small amount of money, but we provide this to them and then it’s just one step towards their economic development and there for their growth. When we talk of you know entrepreneurship for women it’s not just economic development but I think it’s also critical to their overall development you know it was a woman who did not have a voice once and now has a voice who was not able to participate in decision making prior to this prior to her becoming an entrepreneur prior her starting a business but now somehow that additional step has taken her forward. Like you mentioned Megan, it builds confidence in woman to now participate in community decision-making and we see that time and time again. I just want to pose this question to you. What are ways in which women can strengthen themselves during these challenges so that they can continue this journey forward?  

Megan: Yeah, that’s great. It’s so good to hear that you are creating these opportunities for networking. I mean that is just everything. Because you’re right. Having access to knowledge and information is a huge part of the innovation process and what you’re describing is actually called the absorptive capacity—the academic term but it’s basically how people gather information from their environments, internalize it and then produce or an action or a product or something that will generate income somehow. So, when you’re talking about what women can do and how they can strengthen that. The first thing I would say is to start to build their networks so when the opportunities present themselves for networking you say “yes!” You say yes to all of the opportunities, you take every chance that you can get to get as much information as you can to access as much information as you can because that is going to form a lot of your decision making how you process, how you decide. I think that’s huge. I think it’s very critical for women to support women I think that’s essential. I mean when you think about it, it’s been men supporting men from day one, so they got that down and figured out. We’re really behind the game just in every aspect of this world and so to me it can’t happen fast enough that we have networks built up where you know someone who knows somebody who knows somebody who would be good, it’s just referrals. Referrals are huge. That’s critical to women-owned businesses and developing women-owned businesses. It’s just that essential. I think the other thing would be to really establish where your balance is going to be because when women start or partake in an entrepreneurial business they need to set boundaries. They’re whole shift—their whole world is going to shift and recognizing that the status quo cannot go on. It’s not going to go on the same for the nuclear family. It’s not going on the same for the woman specifically so I think a great skill would be to learn to say “Yes and No.”  Today I’m going to go meet with my friends you get to figure out what you would like to do for dinner. You are very capable, you know, of training the children, yes, the children can do the laundry, if not it’s like everything is going to shift. So, recognizing that there’s going to be a shift in making sure that as much as possible others are okay with it and or supported. I think that’s huge.  

Becky: That’s a good point you brought up about boundaries and oftentimes in a culture with the Indian culture where the patriarchy is so strong women are unable to set those boundaries and they do take on a lot more on their plate. They are working full-time at home, and they are working full-time in their businesses trying to balance and that is definitely a challenge. But just listening to you speak on this I am so excited, and I am getting new information that I can go back and share with these women. I know they will certainly benefit from this. The other one that I really think about you know when I talk about entrepreneurship with women is their inability to get ahead in terms of marketing in terms of putting themselves out there in terms of talking about their product or their business so what are your thoughts about that? 

 
Megan: Yeah, so marketing is obviously huge. You know if you have a business you need to tell people about it. I think one of the strongest forms of marketing that a woman could grasp is called narrative marketing and that is essentially telling your story you tell your story to as many people as possible and what that does is that builds this relationship and you get to explain the why the how and your passion is shared and people remember that they remember the why they remember your passion they remember your excitement they remember your vision your dream they remember you more and women are very good at that when given the opportunity we do talking very well so I think that is one of the best things I’ve seen professional business women do specifically entrepreneurs and you share that obviously with your local market but you can do that specifically when you’re tailored to a target market if you have a target market. Now in more of a rural setting that changes a bit, and your target audience is all the people. It’s a little less specified but the same thing still applies you know you share who you are, what your business is, what you offer not necessarily from a competitive perspective but you’re just providing information and what that does is continues the information train that’s why I call it the information train it just keeps going and so what that does is that this causes people to remember I think that’s huge. The other thing in terms of marketing is understanding the fundamentals of its importance I think a lot of businesses especially entrepreneurs entrepreneurial businesses they seem to forget that marketing is pretty critical and they use their funds for other things understandably but I think that’s a big misstep in a lot of businesses especially smaller and newer businesses make across the board is that they don’t understand how important marketing is so having just a slight understanding of what it is and how to optimize it with whatever financial capital you have I think those are really important. For women specifically, I think that’s an area we are successful with our emotions we use those but that is what I would say for women in marketing.

  
Becky: Yeah, it’s really interesting because this is one area that we are still encouraging women to put themselves out there and focus on this because as entrepreneurs as you mentioned they are very creative and want to create things they want to start their business but they completely forget about not selling this thing that they are creating not putting themselves out there to fulfill this need that they have actually set up. But interestingly I know of this one woman she started a rice business in south India of course we eat a lot of rice and she started buying rice in a wholesale market and then selling it in her village and she would depend on her husband to go buy the product and bring it back to the village and then she would sell it to the people there and at all she would do at first is kind of sit in one place and try to do you know sell it from her store. The front of her house was her store so that was how she would do it. She was very shy and she would not talk to people there but as she said over a period of time I realized if I don’t talk to people or if I don’t overcome this barrier I’m not going to be able to sell this and so she would again depend on her husband to go get the orders in the village and sell the rice and sell it to them that way. So the business was doing ok she was able to repay back the microloan we had provided for her to start this business but she came back to me and she was sharing with me in one of our meetings what do I do and how do I overcome this and I encouraged her and I said you have to put yourself out there and you have to overcome your own personal barriers number one and you will have to really overcome the barriers in the community as well because as you say women are looked down upon when they put themselves out there. There are all kinds of stigmas that are attached to that and so I said you will have to overcome that and so she was able to. It’s amazing how she was able to double her business the moment she was able to put herself out there and start selling the product herself because just as you mentioned  you she was able to share why she is doing this it was for her family she was to educate her children she was very passionate about growing a business and a meaningful business for her community and she had a dream to build a house so she was able to talk about all these things and she was able to double her business and today she is not a micro entrepreneur she’s into small business and runs a medium sized enterprise now so I keep teasing her you have to give me a little cut but sense she has exponentially grown her business set up this entire rice shop in her village along with other products. She came to me one day and said I needed another loan to buy a 2wheeler a scooter for myself she said I don’t want to depend on my husband to go buy the product anymore I want to be able to do that I want to be able to go meet other rice venders in the wholesale market and continue this business forward. So it’s there’s so many things that we talked about in terms of breaking barriers in terms of facing challenges in terms of putting yourself out there and marketing kind of really comes together for me in the story of Umudah, that’s her name and she and I share you know a lot of time together just talking and discussing that’s one of my favorite times I would say when I sit down and talk with her you know see the transformation of her personal life but also see how she is impacting her community and her village seeing her example there are so many other woman that have stepped up their game too to be willing to put themselves out there. I think it’s also just that one woman willing. It’s just that one. It is, it is and I just I think it is so important for women and I just want to go back and say how she has grown and her business has grown but also how she is impacting the community you know with her growth now has come the community leaders now come to her they say we want you to be involved in the politics of this village attend our village government meetings we want you to be a village leader on the panel because you have the confidence and experience you have proved yourself that you are capable of being a leader and so these are the kind of opportunities we are able to offset as a result of the microloan program as a result of entrepreneurship opportunities that we are able to provide for women. I’m going to ask Megan you know how have you seen it play out in your context I’m talking so much about the global south and your principles of entrepreneurship are definitely_ I see that working here on the ground but in your context how do you see that happen? 

Megan: So one thing that when I was studying and researching entrepreneurs I found that there really is like a really specific set of skills that really embody a successful entrepreneur and you touched on a few of those and they really are like being a visionary you have to be adaptive and endure you have to be able to face adversity and really bounce back in part of that is that confidence that you were talking about you have to be a risk taker and you really have to be creative. So those are elements_ core character traits of really an entrepreneur they can others and they will have these to varying degrees but when you look at someone who is a successful entrepreneur, they’ve either developed these skills, learned how to do them or they naturally have them. So for me personally what I have seen is that entrepreneurs fill a role locally and to me I’m always impressed by that and you’ve hit on it a couple times Becky where you talk about the change that can be generated immediately at a local level so business to me has always been a solution for poverty it’s been a solution to stagnate economic growth it’s been a solution to all types of results that come from poverty_ so abuse, rape, crime alcoholism all things that are band aids for a wounded people and a broken economy. Business can be a solution to that and I think that really stands true for the local economic engine for especially rural places but I’ve always been fascinated by that there’s a town here, Brunswick,  you see that here right across this little bridge you have these estates that have these beautiful mansions and a wonderful economy on this little island and then you go across the bridge and you enter into Brunswick certain areas are absolutely not great economically and so you see the results of that you see the bars on the windows, you hear the crime, the gunshots the sirens and all of that not all the time. I mean it’s its own charming place disclaimer. You do see that there’s a difference there and so I think organizations and governments a lot to a degree individuals who have already been successful who have the means and the resources when they can come in and provide a platform for others to step up and innovate and create and develop and then maintain new businesses I think that is just an excellent thing that will really have long term benefits so that’s what I see here that what I think especially women have a heart to see change for the better I think they, like you said before they more an outward focus I think sometimes women their jobs are them they are their jobs whereas men sometimes go to a job and then go home. I think we personalize things we can’t really help it always I don’t think we always should help it I think it’s a strength_ we care a lot and so I think we’re naturally prone to try to create a way to better the world around us in a way that men might not be attuned to or interested in. So, I think that’s kind of another big reason to support women entrepreneurs. 
 
Becky: Yeah wow when I was listening to you Megan I just thought of this one thing you said business is a solution for all of these other social challenges that you’re saying so you know that drives home a bigger point for us particularly those of those of us in the Christian faith that it’s not just business is a solution to the problems but driven from a Christian point of view or a biblical point of view it is about building God’s kingdom. It’s about changing the whole narrative of what the world wants us it is the harmony the dissention the pain and the struggle and replacing that with God’s love peace and hope and justice and the abundant life that Christ came to give and so when we engage with women, encourage them to be entrepreneurs it’s not just for their own personal empowerment and development or it’s not just even the development of the communities and the changes of some social changes and so on it has to have a larger focus and I kinda heard you say that this whole idea of business is not to just make money or it is not just a drive to economic growth and development but it has a greater purpose and for those of us in the Christian faith means that it is about the kingdom it’s about building and extending God’s kingdom and encouraging people to be a part of that kingdom. Before we kind of close out I know we have Lynn and we have Angela and Lynn is involved with Mary Kay quite heavily, very successful and Angela is on the KGF board and a good friend of mine and she also a woman in business and leads her own company and I just wanted to you know have them share their insights as well and ask questions or comment on some of the things that we have discussed so I am going to leave it open for about 5 minutes 5 or 10 minutes for discussion and then we’ll close out.  

Lynn: Well I am really excited about what Megan was sharing because it echos so much of what I have learned in my Mary Kay journey from a woman who broke the glass ceiling in our country in 1963 and it has changed the whole dynamic of what women can do in our country and it think it’s_ every country has those women that are risk takers_ I like that and they change the culture and the society in there. For our country it’s been different women in different areas but Mary Kay was one of the forerunners. One of the things I would like to add is that not only does it change immediately but it’s far reaching and into the next generation. When a young person, a child sees what their mother can do and how she changed herself because when you are a women entrepreneur you are modeling for those future generations what it takes to be courageous what it takes to handle rejection what it means to deal with adversity and all those things so you’re modeling that for that next generation and I think that is what is most exciting to me and again coupled with the opportunity that you’re showing people, especially in India that there is hope and you know a lot of times it starts out at the economic level when they have a little hope in the fact that they are going to be able to feed their families and from there that foundation then you can show them what the real hope what our true hope is in and that’s Jesus Christ.  

Becky: Amen. Lynn you are so on point as we see these women entrepreneurs step out take the risks, face the challenges you know convert their barriers into learning goals we see their daughters wanting to go to school and better at saying no to child marriage saying no to child labor, saying no to malnutrition and eating well and growing a kitchen garden. It’s children, the little girls doing their part looking at their mothers, so yes, it is far reaching it does impact the future generation. Not just in an immediate sense with children but how far this can continue to go on their effect of them so thank you Lynn, that was just excellent.  

Angela: Yeah! I started taking some notes during it cause when you started talking about the narrative marketing aspect of it, we recently brought on a videographer in our company and he’s always trying to get me to do some narrative marketing with him. He wants me to get on camera and tell a story. For years, I mean we are in a farming industry and landscaping landscape supply and for years it’s been very male dominated and now like there’s a lot more women interested in a lot of this farming and stuff like that and they want me to be like a face on there just telling the history about how I grew up doing this stuff. It’s really hard for me to think that I was like wow she is saying the same they are saying to me at work. So, I thought it was funny. Yeah, but you did explain, and I did learn a lot about this, and women relate and just want to hear this story and how it gives them confidence and builds trust in the product you’re selling so it was good I enjoyed it.  

Megan: So that’s the thing the trust. You really build trust and that’s a huge thing in building business relationships. People trust you and I think that women are really good at generating trust, especially between women. I think that’s just great and that’s a part of the integrity that you build especially as a Christian, Becky you mentioned that being a Christian really adds that_ a strength that you don’t have to try as hard to have integrity in your business relationships. It comes naturally. I think that does some out especially when you’re relating to other women. I’m excited for you, that is an exciting opportunity.  

Becky: I think it’s a greater responsibility to show integrity in your business and in your work in what you say and do. But yes, Angela stories_ some personal stories it’s how we have been personally impacted and what drives us what moves us or changes us or what sometimes angers us as well as something when we put out there and are honest about it certainly has built that trust and it’s not this superficial trust where we’re women but I think most of it comes out of our need for our sense of security and safety. That’s big for women and so we feel safe and secure when we can trust and so we kind of put that out there as well. So, Matt, I’m going to put you on the spot. Since we’ve been talking about women we would love to hear from a man’s perspective, and you know your thoughts on our conversation.  

Matt: Yes, thank you for letting me sit in and join on a wonderful session and I think there is something both about Becky and Megan were speaking to also around the resourcefulness of women entrepreneurs show in the efficiency they can show in building businesses that is a unique can be a unique skill set for women being externally focused. Also you know I think building a business through trust and business relationships through trust is such a point and I imagine that transcends geography of where you are and I love the fact that as followers of Christ that is our mission as we make disciples and as we make relationships to broader mission so no I really appreciate this session today and towards my personal career journey I’ve worked for some amazing women bosses and women leaders and have seen entrepreneurs and larger companies and I think all of the points that you make are well done and just having a former receipt from IGL and KGF women I know they do an incredible job supporting other women around the world so it is a pleasure to be able to listen to this so thank you for letting me sit in.  

Becky: Oh absolutely Matt thank you for joining us and I really you know thank you for that insight and input the world resourcefulness really hit me and women are very resourceful and they can take something very little and very small and use it, maximize, leverage it the best way possible and I’ve seen that happen in our villages and they need just a small piece of land or a small space to set up a eatery or they just need a little bit of resources our microloans that we provide are really small amounts of money but they take that with that they are able to buy the raw materials needed for their business or invest it in other areas that they need to develop their businesses and so on and yes that’s a key word in entrepreneurship: resourcefulness and we see women really good at that. Resourcefulness even when it comes to their time not just the material part of it values of it I was at a business meeting with some business women in Salem the other day and one of the ladies brought her young daughter along and she says “my daughter has an exam tomorrow and I know I wanted to be in this meeting” so I just wanted to maximize her time so she brought her daughter along and she was at the other end of the table writing a test that she has given you know studying and the mom was here in the meeting she was talking but also look at her daughter like ‘are you done with your test, you need to finish that, so it was like ok, we are having two meetings simultaneously but for us to be resourceful like that and use our time like that and then also for other women there to be supportive of this role that this mom had to play at that point in time I think that there’s a lot that’s going on there’s a lot that is going in favor for women right now. Lynn you made the comment about breaking the glass ceiling and for a long time women a lot of women have tried to break the glass ceiling and today I want to encourage you with this that because women like you broke the glass ceiling and took the risk and did that, women in our generation have the privilege of standing on your shoulders and today I would say that dawn has broken for the common woman, the everyday woman who is able to put herself out there you know engage in microbusiness, go to school and embark in a whole new journey that would not have been possible if it weren’t for women who took the risk, so that was a great point. So, thank you_ I know Kris and Liz are both here and I want to be able to give you time as well in case you wanted to share a quick word, or a thought.  

Kris: An interesting point that really got to me was when Megan talked about how business in their innovation can bring about helps for the community and I saw this just in something that my son is going to be a part of in the next few days because of some struggles he’s been having. These two women with 20 years of experience working within the field of addiction have taken their passion and created a weekend learning experience where they’re helping people but it’s also their business. So, you know when you talk about the struggles that we have in communities— there’s the innovation piece. How can I take my experience and help other people and make it an economic plus for the community?
 
Becky: Thanks for sharing, Kris!  

Megan: One thing that you mentioned is you know when you take someone who is putting their experience, a practical solution for a problem in the community and you add an economic component behind it—it makes it sustainable. It becomes a solution rather than a temporary one or even a short term one when you add, it can build money it can create money it can create some type of revenue or profit in some way it tends to last longer in its purpose. I think that a lot of people who want to help find a way to help but also help in a way that can be supported. It can get the resources it needs to keep going. That is also a critical part of a successful entrepreneurial endeavor.  

Becky: True, sustainability is key for any start up for any business they have to start focusing on that day one and you made a great point on that Megan and one of the success we see with the microloans that we are providing is how these businesses are not just start ups that fizzle out after a year or so but these women keep coming back for their second microloan or their third microloan and that tells us that they are building on their existing business and are growing it and today KGF has provided several microloans and through IGL and the other sister concern we have we work with about a little over 5,000 entrepreneurs in rural India and it’s exciting to see the change that these woman are themselves going through but also the impact they’re bringing. I think one of the unique things and I’m going to kind of wind off because our time is up all of this from our experience and again from a Christian perspective all of this really has a deeper meaning and makes a lot of sense when it’s done through the local church and we see the impact of that in the community when the church takes it on when the church comes alongside women and business and economic development and it starts to influence the community that we provide the support and information or skill training or microloans we truly see the way forward for the kingdom and going back to our earlier point it’s not just about business solutions versus social problems it’s about the church having an impact on the community so that the kingdom of God can be extended and built so that is kind of the overarching picture for our entrepreneurship endeavor I would say. I think one closing thought or one closing invitation I would say that I have is for women to come alongside women and I think Megan you made that point—women coming alongside women it is so important and helping women. KGF today is launching something we are calling the champion program and we are inviting women to be a champion for other women, particularly women from the global south and we I think Mallory has put out that link on our chat box and if you wanted to know more of what it means to be a champion speak for women, how we can empower women, how we can come alongside, share the successes of women with other women you know you can become a champion and so I would encourage you I you have not thought about it to pray about it and advocate for it. So thank you so much Megan this has been insightful, exciting and I have so many things that I’m looking forward to sharing back with the women that I work with and thank you to all who participated Angela and Lynn such a joy to see you and thanks for your thoughts and for your insight as well thank you for taking the time and making the effort and Matt thanks again for your support and your insight as well, I really appreciate you and Kris and Liz and Mallory thanks so much for putting this all together and for facilitating this in such a wonderful and seamless manner. Megan, thanks again!  
Megan: You’re very welcome. Thank you!  

In our first ever HERJourney, KGF President, Rebecca Stanley, interviewed Christine Stephens about her life growing up in the northeastern state of Manipur. Christine shared many insightful pieces of wisdom and encouragement.

Becky: Tell us what the typical day is like for a woman in the Northeast.

Christine: The typical day is long and hard. Women are the first to get up and the last to go to bed. It’s a very hard life. 

They get up at 4 in the morning. Set the fire and then cook for the whole family. Everything is manual, even harvesting the rice, for every meal. Collecting water is another chore, walking two or three miles just to get water, carrying it on their back. After collecting water, they’ll do some of their house chores, feed the family. They may have to go and take care of elderly family members before even going to work, usually in the fields. They do this every day, without much respect and then too, many live with domestic violence. Many of the husbands drink and are very abusive. And yet the women depend completely on their husbands for everything. They don’t have a voice even to make decisions for themselves. They are marginalized and this is not just in the Northeast. This is very much how life is like for women throughout rural India.

Though men have a part to play, unfortunately, they do not play their part well. Due to the male patriarchal dominated society, they think it is the job of the woman to take care of and do everything. Women are subjected and subjugated. 

Becky: What types of opportunities do women have? 

Christine: There is very little opportunity for education for girls in the rural Northeast. Most of the parents don’t want to invest in their daughters because they see them as only born to give birth and take care of family. Education is powerful and not for girls. 

Women have very few opportunities. There is no healthcare or mental care and no care from husbands. There are no job opportunities in the Northeast. Whoever can come down into Central India to get an education does so, but not many have that opportunity. There just aren’t a lot of options for girls or women. 

Becky: This is the case for women in rural areas throughout India. And this is why it is so important for nonprofits like KGF to work in rural areas to provide skills training and microloans. Along with our partners, we provide opportunities for women who have no
other options. Providing capital for micro-businesses and helping women to develop skills provides a tremendous value to these women. But also, we are helping women to create a strong network of support. All of which is extremely empowering.

Becky: What advice do you give to young women?

Christine: Just focus on using your pain and suffering for good and to be a blessing for others. 

Life is unfair but be strong and do not give up. Stand up for what you wish to be. Don’t give up!

Becky: Christine is working with initiatives happening in the northeast and is working with young girls and women.

Christine, how has your life journey impacted you in a way that has caused you to give back to your community?

Christine: My life journey is an interesting and challenging one. It has been hard. But all my life, God has been so faithful, He is so good. 

I don’t have very good child memories like others. But God has used it all for good—my heartaches and doubts and he has trained me well. Because of my mom we became first generation Christians. There were so many things that happened in my life that brought me close to God but there are some major events that have impacted me and caused me to want to give back.

I had four bothers, but now three, because God has taken one back. When I was in the eighth grade, we experienced hell on earth because my father drank. He would come home from work and drink and was so abusive to my mom—every single night for four long years. I would often think, “How can a man be so abusive, so brutal to his wife?” Every single night, my brothers and I, we were so scared and I was the oldest. We looked for someone to help but there was no one around to help us.

I also experienced sexual harassment so many times, I just felt so broken. I started to hate men and I wondered, “Am I just here for a man? Why is man so brutal and abusive to woman?” During that time, I hated men so much and wondered why was I born as a woman.

But even in these difficult years, God showed His faithfulness. God has saved me so many times in my life. In the northeast, we have drug problems and insurgencies. One day I was traveling with a group of people and the car that I was traveling in was ambushed amidst an insurgency. And the people that I was traveling with were killed. I could see the men who attacked us, but I was unharmed. God saved me for a purpose, still today. One other time, I was at the beach and there was a tsunami. If I would have remained there five minutes longer, I would not be here. God saved me.

And yet another very difficult situation that I experienced was when I gave birth to my second son. Right after having a c-section I was diagnosed with dengue. My baby was in ICU for ten days and I was unable to see him.

After I finished college, I was working with an organization and my mom called me saying, “You have to come home, your father is sick.”  He was asking for me. And I rushed back. By the time I reached home, he was gone. I’m grateful, that though I experienced hard times with my dad when I was young, in the later years, my dad was the best teacher, the best adviser and the best friend for me.

Then in 2012, God took my youngest brother. He left behind his young beautiful daughter and wife. 

Life is not so easy but God has brought me through such hard times and trained me well for a mission such as this that I am prepared to come alongside a little girl or a woman who are so vulnerable like I was. We were able to save a group of girls in Manipur.

(Christine and her husband have traveled to Manipur to take relief and minister to the people there where ethnic violence erupted in May of 2023. Many villages have been left in rubble. Hundreds of people have been killed. Children have been orphaned and families are living in relief camps even to this day. Christine shared that every time she saw a little girl, she would think back to her younger years and say, “that was me” and her heart would break. She would think, “I need to do something.”)

Becky: What is one thing you would say to women who want to give back, invest and help girls and women?

Christine: We can do so much together. I can’t do it alone. But we can do so much together. Let’s join our hands together and save those little girls…

“I can do somethings but together we can do great things.”