Yesterday, I had the opportunity to chat with Elizabeth (whose story is shared here), a young woman who has been in our programs since 2011 and is a real mover and shaker. She’s incarcerated for drug trafficking and is serving a 13 year sentence.
Elizabeth is hard not to like. Her exuberant personality, paired with her bright smile and optimistic outlook on just about everything, make her someone you just want to get to know. Over the years we have developed a special connection and I consider her a friend above all else.
I found Elizabeth yesterday in the women’s workshop with a group of artisans who are working with another NGO to create products for the local market. I had heard through the grapevine that she was elected the delegate of the the group and was in a leadership position.
When I heard this, I instantly knew that Elizabeth would be fantastic in this position. She’s a really genuine person and everything she says comes from a place of care and authenticity. From the get go she has pushed to improve herself while in prison. She is such a motivated person that it is difficult not be inspired by just being near her. Not to mention she is a stellar artist.
Embroidered butterfly bracelet by Elizabeth
Entering the workshop area, I was thrilled to see Elizabeth in her element. She invited me to sit and we chatted about export production and the challenges we, as an organization, face.
Instantly, she was abuzz with solutions to our challenges and explained how the local production chain worked and the ways Ruraq Maki could replicate it. As soon as started talking, the other women in the room perked up and began adding their thoughts until they told me firmly, “Don’t worry, Amanda. We can work all of it out. We can do it.”
Here’s the thing about leadership- most of the time it isn’t about knowing the solution, it’s about inspiring others to seek it and act on it. In the short 20 minutes of our chat Elizabeth did just that, without even trying!
Just her enthusiasm and proactive attitude inspired the others to follow suit. We went from a room of women quietly working on their products to women throwing out ideas, smiling, and nodding and how they could definitely figure out how to produce for export. 100 bags? That’s nothing!
Watching Elizabeth, who is brimming with possibility and whose future gets brighter by the day, I have no words. She is a living example of what it means to persevere and to take every single opportunity to learn more, try something new, and test your boundaries.
I know that she deeply misses her daughter, and if she was someone else, maybe she would wallow in that despair. But she doesn’t. She keeps moving. She keeps growing. She leads.
P.S. There was no prison today as the women were participating in the annual Carnavales celebration within the prison.
