Program offers women a chance to help other women in Afghanistan, Rwanda

Mentorship plays an important role in academic improvement and self-awareness. Learning about the journey someone has traveled to reach success and having them share that with you makes you feel motivated to work even harder. When we think of mentors, we often think of someone older guiding a younger person through life. However, a mentor can serve as anyone with experience helping another person improve her life.

This unique mentorship opportunity through the Peace Through Business program pairs Oklahoma women business owners with women from Afghanistan and Rwanda who practice their same trade. They live and work with the American business owner to experience how their profession is practiced in the United States. They learn how the business operates, how the American business owner balances her work and personal priorities, as well as form good friendships.

Sarah Sears, owner of S Designs, Inc., in Oklahoma City, has mentored two women business owners — one from Afghanistan and one from Rwanda. She says she loves the experience because both women became friends and you also realize how far you've grown in your business. “Both of the women were in the early stages of developing their marketing firms, so they benefitted from experiencing the types of systems we have in place to run as efficiently as possible,” said Sears.