Mary's Story

 Mary refers to this story as one of her “horizontal creations.”  She attended a coaches conference where she was inspired not only by the frame-breaking speakers but by her roommate, a natural coach who is on the Board of “Help Lesotho”, building leadership skills in girls in this tiny South African mountain kingdom who are orphaned or abused.  Talking to a friend who is a jewelry maker after the conference, they hit upon the idea of “Pearls for Girls” – using simple, easy to make pearl jewelry as a way of bringing North American girls together for dialogue and self discovery about possibilities for contributing to world issues – “from consumers of the mall to citizens of the world.”  Mary also inspired other coaches to join her.  In their first fundraising effort, the girls raised $1,000. from their jewelry that allowed 14 Sotho girls to attend a leadership camp which included AIDS education (Lesotho has one of the highest rates of AIDS in the world).  One of the coaches, a former client, has become Mary’s US partner in one of the many serendipitous connections that have arisen out of the project.Mary has been the champion of Pearls for Girls, engaging others with her energy and passion.  Her coaching skills have been the foundation of her success as she sees it, allowing her to listen, ask questions, see possibilities, and be a role model of the kind of local and global leader we need for the future.  She credits her coach training and experience as well as her communications expertise.  She says, “I am a catalyst for bringing coaches together who want to contribute something to world issues but don’t know how – I am the how.”  And because they are coaches, they are extending the linking to others, playing that connecting role.  At the moment, Mary and her colleague are designing a half-day program for others to use, both coaches and the girls themselves.  She is also working with banks to design a micro-lending program so girls can lead and develop independent Pearls for Girls programs.For Mary, the project has been like “getting the keys to the candy store”.  She has been amazed at the way people and resources have shown up at the right times, and how because of the coaches the idea has taken off.  She has watched the excitement in the girls who come together to make bracelets and then proudly showcase their jewelry designs.  She has seen them discover their own power to make a difference in the lives of disadvantaged young women half a world away.  Her goal now is to sustain the momentum, working with volunteers, creating an organization that gives back to those involved.  She comments that it takes lots of energy to build, inspire and sustain the process.  And she credits her partner’s complementary skillset – “you have to dance with somebody else to make this kind of thing work.”